Their Seventh Year
by Enlightened Piglet
Summary: Lily Evans reckons she has it all sorted; perfect grades, two best friends, and a cute new love interest to boot. Oh, but she forgot to mention, her sister's getting married to a walrus, there are Death Eaters on the loose, and James I'm-a-living-god Potter is Head Boy. This is the story of their seventh year.
1. Remaining Calm

My attempt at the Lily/James story that has been much abused by many a fanfic author. Hope I don't screw it up too much - let me know what you think! Just a warning that it's going to be a bit slow moving at the start in terms of the L/J relationship, but if you like details, and a realistic view on how these two very different people got together, then this is for you! Keep reading for drama, laughter, tears, and Death Eaters.

UPLOADS WEEKLY. Promise.

NOTE: I just British English, so 'realise'='realize', and 'colour'='color' and so on. Just thought I'd point that out because the last time I wrote something I got told by numerous people I had bad spelling...

Re-upload: I found the original first chapter that I typed up a while back and thought I'd lost. It's combined with the old chapter 1, so you can read if you like but its not a must for the story to make sense :)

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**Chapter 1.**

Lily Evans was not amused. The first week back at Hogwarts had been running smoothly – she had been kidding herself that it was because of her exceptional talent at carrying out Head Girl duties – until this mishap; a huge, foul mishap in the form of a pile of dung that stretched from one side of the narrow corridor to the other. The dank, unmoving air in the dungeon worsened the stench till it was almost overpowering; Lily had the sleeve of her robe pushed firmly against her nose and mouth while muttering spell after frustrated spell to try and clear it up. Her initial "_scourgify_" had no effect, as did her next cleaning spell.

She was going to _kill _him_._ He was _Head Boy_ for Merlin's sake! This feeling of exasperation and heightened annoyance was familiar to Lily; six years with James Potter – spoilt, big-headed, _pig_-headed, toe-rag of a being – ensured that. Right now it was worse than ever. If Dumbledore didn't regret appointing him Head Boy after this incident, she didn't know what would. This was immaturity at its peak.

A deep grating sound of stone against stone echoed through the corridor as the hidden door opposite the great pile of dung opened and out stepped a Slytherin fifth-year. She wrinkled her nose at the stench and approached slowly.

"What are you _doing_?" she exclaimed, glaring at Lily as if it were her fault. Lily had come here on the request of another Slytherin who had come up to her, breathless and asking for help in the dungeons. She had been expecting a fight of some sort, but when she had rushed down to the dungeons this was the 'emergency' that faced her.

"Trying to clean up this mess for you is what," Lily snapped back.

Okay, so that wasn't her best Head Girl response, but she was frustrated and stunk of dung and felt like the smell had been absorbed into her skin and no amount of scrubbing would wash it off.

"Hurry up!" screeched the girl. "It stinks!"

Lily bit back a snappy remark and aimed another cleaning charm at it. Nothing.

"I'm late for class already!"

"You're welcome to go around."

The girl looked appalled. The only patches of the flagstone floor you could see were on the outskirts of the pile right up against the walls, and even then you'd get a generous amount on your shoe.

The door to the Slytherin common room opened again and a pair of first year boys stepped out. "Ewww," they chorused.

Lily tried her best to keep from sighing.

This time she aimed a vanishing spell at it, which turned the dung a fluorescent purple. A lightbulb went off in her head. She mentally scoured last year's Charms textbook – she had the answer, it was in the back of her head, all she had to do was-

"I knew making a Mudblood Head Girl was a stupid idea," someone muttered darkly behind her.

Lily froze at that, and whipped around, her face red with indignation and anger. "_What_ did you call me?"

It was Avery, a burly seventh-year Slytherin. He was a nasty piece of work, always sneering and turning his nose up at muggle-borns with his pure-blood superiority.

"Nothing," he said as he met her fierce gaze.

"Yeah, mummy says Mudbloods are all stupid," crowed one of the little boys from the other side.

"Detention!" she yelled, and pointed her wand at him, then back around at Avery. She desperately wanted to hex the living daylights out of them, but detention would have to do.

"You two. You do _not _use that word. And mummy is wrong," she added to the boy.

She looked away as his eyes welled with tears as soon as she had given him detention – it was probably his first ever. Oh well, he deserved it, the little bugger, as Kate would say.

With a flourish, she executed an intricate vanishing spell, and the Great Dung Pile Of The Slytherin Dorms was gone. Potter had sure put a lot of effort into this one – all the more reason to hex him till the flying cows came home. She was about to storm off when a piece of parchment materialised directly above where the manure had been. Lily snatched it as it floated down and read: _HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY._

Angrily she scrunched it in her fist and stalked off past Avery who gave her a look of disgust, round the corner and up the stairs, not slacking in pace as her anger propelled her on her mission to find Potter – Potter the dead man.

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"Dumbledore is a prick." James Potter exclaimed this as he came in and slammed his books down on the table next to where Remus was reading in the common room. Sirius, who was lounging across a large couch, chuckled.

Remus looked up from his book. "Yes, but he's a very clever prick."

James pushed Sirius' legs out of the way and flopped down. "Making _me_ Head Boy! He knows I never wanted it – he could've given it to anyone. Hec, Lockie Hamling would've wet his panties in joy if he got made Head Boy-"

Peter Pettigrew, from his place near the fire, snickered. James continued, "and he gives it to me of all people. I can't be _James_, I have to be _Head Boy_. Professor Mulburry is giving me the googly eyed treatment like I'm her star student – the old bag hated me last year."

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Peter.

"No, it is not a good thing," said James. "It's like I suddenly became James Squeaky-Clean Potter overnight. Like I'm not a Marauder anymore."

Remus returned to his book, muttering, "Yes, yes, very clever."

He sighed. "You're not being much help, Moony."

James really did think that having a girlfriend had gotten to Remus' head. He had met someone during the holidays - a witch by the name of Sarah, attending another wizarding school. Although he'd been trying not to show it, Remus' excitement had clearly shown in his face as he tried to 'casually' mention it to them.

"And everyone seems to think my parents bribed Dumbledore," James continued. "Because, again, why the hell would he make _me_ Head Boy?"

"At least you get to spend time with Evans," said Sirius.

"Yeah..." James admitted. He grinned. "Guess that balances it."

"You know, you haven't asked her out in a while..." Sirius put on an expression of mock concern. "You haven't given up on her, have you?"

"Never," said James, and Sirius smirked.

"I think she likes you better when you're not saying anything," teased Remus.

"It's fun though," James argued back.

Sirius laughed, and Remus couldn't help but crack a grin at that. They all held many fond memories of James' various proposals, and Lily's various reactions to each of them, the intensity depending on the outlandish-ness of each. Such as the time he had asked her on a date to Hogsmeade by having a floating toy gnome follow her round most of the morning serenading her - she had cursed it back to him so that it repeatedly knocked on the back of his head for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, an angry female voice reverberated around the common room, making the four boys jump. "POTTER!"

James' hand unconsciously leapt to his hair for a second, a slow smile spreading across his face as he turned to face a highly irritated-looking Lily Evans. "Yes, Evans?"

"Head Boy!" she almost shrieked. "You're Head Boy!"

"Indeed," said James with a curt nod. The others watched this exchange with bemused expressions.

Lily aimed a scrunched piece of parchment at his head, which James initially flinched back from but caught with one hand. This seemed to infuriate her more.

"I can't believe it, I thought it would mean _something _to you. Is this all a joke to you?"

"Evans, what are you-?"

"The shit! The pile of shit in the dungeons!" she said, and James could definitely catch a whiff of something off Lily that was not the flowery perfume she usually wore. "That was you, was it not?"

James looked down at the scrap of parchment. _HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY, _said the swirly letters. He frowned. "I don't know what you're on about, Evans, what-"

"It was me," interrupted Sirius.

"_You_?" said Lily, rounding on Sirius.

Sirius didn't even flinch. _Brave man_.

"Yeah," said Sirius casually, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well, Peter and I. James had nothing to do with it, so don't get your panties in a twist over the Head Boy thing, he's being a good boy this year."

James gritted his teeth. An annual Marauder prank on the Slytherins without including him? He'd have a talk to Sirius about it later - after the fiery beast Lily transformed into when she got angry was gone, of course.

James watched with mild amusement as he saw Lily momentarily lost for words. Then she said, "Detention! You and Pettigrew both!" And without a second glance back at James, she stormed back out of the common room.

Sirius whistled as the portrait entrance swung shut. "It's obviously her time of the month."

Remus was shaking his head. "Padfoot, you really oughta lay off the pranks a bit this year."

"And why is that, Moony? Because Prongsie here is Head Boy?"

"That's not going to change anything," said James firmly, while Remus sighed.

"Especially since Evans looks so very fine when she's all riled up like that," said Sirius.

James shot him a look, to which Sirius raised both his palms up in a defensive gesture. "Alright, just saying. You know I'm not into her anyway. King is more my type of girl."

He was referring to Kate King, fellow Gryffindor and friend of Lily Evans. Indeed, she was Sirius' type of girl - long, dark hair, smouldering dark eyes, and a willowy figure. Not that Sirius had ever had any objection to buxom and blonde, either.

"I heard she's dating Dillon Finch," said Peter.

"That Hufflepuff twat?" exclaimed Sirius.

Peter shrugged. "I just heard..."

Sirius shook his head and tutted. "Such a waste."

James was only half listening to this conversation - it was nothing he had not heard before. Sirius and Kate's on-off relationship had been a part of their lives since fifth year, and James had no doubt they'd get back together by the end of the month, 'Hufflepuff twat' or no 'Hufflepuff twat'.

"Thanks a lot, Padfoot," said James. "Now I'm going to have to deal with Evans monster all week."

Sirius just grinned at him. "She's feisty when she's angry. You can thank me later."

James aimed a cushion from the couch he was on at Sirius' head, which he easily dodged. "Now I'm going to have to _apologise_," James said with a groan.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Evans."

Potter again. Lily Evans sighed inwardly and picked up the mug of pumpkin juice she had been enjoying with her breakfast cereal in the Great Hall before he had addressed her. "What?" she said, not bothering to turn around.

"Do you have a raisin?"

"No." She took a swig of juice.

"How 'bout a date?"

Lily choked and almost sprayed over Kate - who was laughing at his lame pick up line, and at Lily's reaction - sitting opposite her. Some best friend.

"Please tell me you're not serious?" She turned around to face him.

James stood there with his silly lopsided grin and annoyingly twinkly hazel eyes. "Dead serious."

Lily _really _could not be bothered thinking of a witty remark today. It had taken her an hour of soaking in the Prefects bathtub last night to rid herself of the stench of dung, and although she knew it was not truly his fault, she still felt acutely annoyed at him.

"No, thank you." She was trying a new tactic this year: be concise but polite. And never, _ever_, lose your temper (with the exception of last night). He seemed to enjoy it more when she did.

"Hah, I was only kidding, Evans. Don't be such a grump," he said. Lily rolled her eyes. "See you round, Lily-flower." And with that he walked off to join his friends further down the table.

"That has _got_ to be the most corniest line yet," crowed Kate, happily munching away on her toast.

"Aww, cheer up Lily-flower," said Alice beside her in false sympathy. She was grinning to Kate all the while.

Lily gave an exaggerated sigh of frustration and shook her head. "Honestly, that boy... He is -"

"- so in love with you," finished Alice.

"No," retorted Lily, pointing her finger at Alice, and then Kate. "Not love. Infatuated with a side of creepy obsession, more like."

This was a fitting description of James' feelings for Lily. At least, from her point of view. Over the past six years at Hogwarts he had managed to get on her nerves every day without fail. It had started off with tormenting her in first year, whether it be pulling her pigtails or dying her hair green. Then it had moved on to loud exclamations of his undying love for her whenever they were in a crowded room. Most recently, however - most recently being fifth year and most of last - it was his arrogant assumptions that she would like him, that she just _had _to because he was in the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and half the female population swooned at his very presence, that infuriated her. Now it seemed he had retreated back to embarrassing presentations of his affections.

"I still cannot believe Dumbledore made him Head Boy," said Lily.

"We know, we know," said Kate. "But who knows - this could be good for you two."

She smiled brightly when Lily glared at her.

xxxxxxxxxx

James was mentally kicking himself as he made his way towards his friends and distanced himself from yet another foot-in-mouth encounter with Lily. He had only been meaning to apologise on behalf of Sirius, honestly. But his resolve to talk to her like a normal person and not the incredible goddess that she was had broken as he approached her and saw that her gorgeous dark red hair was down today instead of swept into its usual practical bun. He had been doing well all week; opening doors for her, only speaking when spoken to, in a calm and polite way (he had to imagine her face was Wormtail's to do so). But that hair. That _hair_. That long, deep scarlet hair that always came undone from its pins and fell over her emerald, almond-shaped eyes before being swiped back behind her ears along with a cute look of annoyance across her delicate features had long since tormented him with its lustrous beauty. On weekends it was let out of its confines and would shine, gloriously fiery in the light. Sirius found this interesting, because, "When a girl like that has her hair down, she's letting go of her inhibitions. You should only talk to her in the weekends, mate."

James highly doubted that, and ignored his advice. Just like he did most of Sirius' advice. Although, he had to admit, Sirius Black had girl psychology down to an art, if the endless string of dates he went on were any indication.

He should have realised today, however, that having her hair down meant she was not in the mood for a chat as she had probably been in a hurry this morning and was now flustered and annoyed. Not that she ever was particularly in the mood when it came to James Potter. Today had been worse, though, when she had shut him down by using her 'be polite' tactic. He hated it when she was polite to him. It meant he hadn't affected her at all, when all he wanted to do was affect her so much he'd drive her right into his arms. Or so that was the Grand Plan.

Contrary to popular opinion, James Potter had not always liked Lily Evans from day one. In fact, on day one at Hogwarts when he had met her in Potions and she had been the know-it-all, having read the entire tome of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ before term began, he had put her down as an annoying book worm. Albeit with nice hair.

Throughout that year and the next, her outspoken teachers-pet ways in class had irritated him and he began his pranks on Lily Evans, which always turned out to be good fun when at the end she would come storming after him, cheeks red with anger and green eyes narrowed. However, some time during third year those green eyes and those red cheeks became appealing to him. He had finally let Remus talk him into ceasing the pranks in fifth year, as Remus and Lily had become friends when they were both appointed as the Gryffindor prefects. But his attention to her had not wavered - much to her disappointment.

Just then Kate King walked past the group, along with her friends. Her and Sirius' eyes met, and she gave him a wink. He gave her a curt nod and his trademark twitch of a smile and a crinkling of those stormy grey eyes girls swooned at. Kate merely smirked and kept walking.

Throughout this exchange James was watching Lily pass by. She seemed to be very intently observing a stray thread on the sleeve of her uniform robe. James sighed and went back to his breakfast. Lily Evans would have to wait, no doubt in anticipation, for further romantic antics of the incorrigible James Potter.


	2. Siblings and Meetings

**Just finished editing this and couldn't wait till the end of the week to upload it so here it is :)**

**I know it looks like a lot of prose and not much dialogue but I hope you'll take the time to read it. I enjoyed writing it! My take on what the Lily/Petunia relationship was like. Let me know what you think. I promise the next chap will be more exciting!**

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**Chapter 2. Siblings and Meetings**

The first weekend back at Hogwarts was a busy one for the seventh years. They had covered a huge amount of coursework already, and there were spells to be practised, essays to be written, and many hours of sitting at the library to be accomplished.

Lily Evans was in the library struggling through a particularly difficult paragraph on the reproductive organs of Wheezles. She huffed and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face before dipping her quill into the ink pot.

The library was, apart from the spot next to the Black Lake in the summer, her favourite place in Hogwarts. This was in part due to its quiet stillness and the splendour of the hundreds of old tomes that always calmed her at the end of a stressful week, not to mention that James Potter tended to stay away from places that were quiet and still and filled with hundreds of books.

Lily gave up on her essay when she turned the page of the textbook she was referring to and half of the next page had been torn out. She sighed and closed it with a loud _thump_. A minute was spent doodling and mulling over which assignment to tackle next. Her fingers were already splotched with ink, and a small drop had splashed onto the thin scar on the index finger of her right hand. If she looked at it sideways the ink resembled a lopsided heart. Lily smiled at the irony of it.

Her older sister, Petunia Evans, had given her that scar when they were little. They had often fought when they were younger, mostly physical, which changed to nasty verbal attacks as they grew older. It had started ever since a strange man dressed in purple robes and pointy hat had turned up at the doorstep of their humble home in Spinner's End, and had talked to her parents, handing them a letter addressed to Lily Evans from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The particular incident resulting in the scar had happened during the summer holidays after Lily's first year at Hogwarts, after Petunia, for the hundredth time that week, had called Lily a freak. By then Lily had had enough, and she had hit her sister quite roughly on the arm. Petunia had shrieked and hit her back, and so began a slapping contest in the Evans living room. It ended when Petunia used her nails and scratched Lily's hand drawing blood that splashed onto the carpet. Lily had gone crying to her mother, who had come running at the sound of yet another scuffle between her daughters. Petunia had received a firm telling off, which only seemed to infuriate her more, and she had kept to her room for the rest of the week and refused to come out to farewell her sister when she returned for her second year.

Lily had forgiven her for that. She had forgiven her for many things over the years, mostly due to her mother who had revealed to her something Petunia desperately tried to hide from the family. It was on a Sunday afternoon when Lily had been crying on her lap after Petunia had called her a string of nasty names.

Her mother sighed sadly and stroked her hair."Oh Lily, my dear."

Lily, whose tears had calmed down to a sniffle, just hugged her mother's waist tighter.

"You know why Tuney's like that, don't you?"

Lily sat up and rubbed her eyes with her small fist. "I know, mum. Because she's jealous."

"Yes, and wouldn't you be? If she got to go to this marvelous, magical school, and you had to stay at home?"

Lily nodded, her cheeks still wet and nose runny, not convinced. They had had this talk many times.

Her mother could tell she was not getting through to her. She sighed again, and said, "I'll tell you something about Tuney, but you have to promise me you will never ever tell her that you know."

Lily sat up straighter and nodded. "I promise."

"Well... Last year," her mother began, "remember when Peggy went missing that week?"

Peggy was Lily's tawny owl, and she had been worried sick. It wasn't like Peggy to disappear for that amount of time. Lily nodded.

"Petunia used her to write a letter to Albus Dumbledore, your Headmaster."

Lily was stunned. That did not sound like Petunia at all. She shied away from anything 'freakish', refused to say the 'm' word, and thought even card tricks were abhorrent.

"Go look in my drawer, the top one. Under the address book. There's a letter there - I found a draft of it in the rubbish."

Lily scooted off her mother's lap and did as she said. She came back to her with a folded piece of paper that looked like it had been smoothed out after being thoroughly scrunched. Lily clambered back onto the bed next to her mother and unfolded it. It was only half filled with large, carefully crafted letters - like a child concentrating on getting each and every letter perfect. Over this it looked like Petunia had scribbled in frustration with a blue ballpoint, but Lily could still make out what she'd written before she had scrapped it.

_Dear Headmaster_

_My name is Petunia Evans, sister of Lily Evans. She goes to your school._

_Please may I also go to your school?_

_I know I can't do magical things like my sister, but I am a very nice person and I promise to work hard and catch up to the others._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Petunia Evans_

Lily looked up from the letter to her mother, who had been watching her daughters face go from initial amusement to a pained expression. Lily did not know what to say. She folded the letter carefully and handed it back to her.

"So that's why," said Mrs Evans. "You have to understand and be nice to her. She loves you, Lily. But she's also incredibly sad that she can't go like her sister. Okay?"

Lily nodded slowly, still not saying a word.

"Good girl." Mrs Evans kissed her daughter's forehead.

All that had been years ago. Lily had kept her promise with her mother, mostly for the sake of preventing Petunia's mortifying embarrassment had she known Lily knew about the letter. That did not mean she had never been tempted to fling it in her face during one of her angry tirades against Lily and her freakish friends. Many times the temptation had been overwhelming. However, overall it did just as her mother had intended it to - it made Lily more tolerant towards her sister, no matter how much she wanted to be anything but.

Especially this last summer, just two weeks back home from Hogwarts, when Lily had been enjoying the glorious weather in the yard.

"Why not!" she had heard Petunia shriek from the kitchen.

Lily rolled her eyes, and continued to lie in the grass, legs stretched out in the dappled light under the oak tree. She did not hear any of her parents responses.

"But he's coming this week!" Petunia shrieked again.

So that's what it was about. She was referring to Vernon - Petunia's monster of a fiancee - coming to stay with them this summer as his flat was going under a major renovation before he and Petunia moved in after the wedding. What fun that would be.

"We can't have a bloody _owl_ in the house, mum!"

Lily sat up abruptly. Oh no, no, no, she wouldn't dare. She stood, hurriedly brushing the grass off her shorts before banging the door open into the kitchen. Her mother was behind the kitchen bench kneading dough, her greying red hair frazzled and her face looking worn. Petunia was standing in front of it, fists balled and brow furrowed. Her father, who had never cared to get involved in Petunia's rages against Lily, was hiding behind his newspaper at the small dining table.

"I hope you're not talking about Peggy," said Lily calmly.

Petunia rounded on her. "Of course I'm talking about bloody _Peggy_."

"Language, Petunia," hushed their mother.

Petunia pretended she hadn't heard and turned back to Mrs Evans. "Vernon's coming to stay. I haven't told him about the freak -"

"Petunia!" admonished Mrs Evans.

"-and he _cannot _find out this way. Her stupid bird hoots and shrieks and flies everywhere, the neighbours already think we're off our rockers."

"I need her," argued Lily. "That's the only way I can write to my friends."

"Ugh! I'm sure your friends will live if they don't hear from you for one summer. And do you really expect me to believe you've been going to that freak show for six years and the only way you can contact each other is by _bird_? You've always been out to get me! I know it!"

Lily was about to tell her that she couldn't use magic until she came of age and was no longer under the Trace, but stopped herself. It would be a bit like explaining the intricacies of car mechanics to a garden gnome. Instead she turned to her mother. "Mum, you can't let her do this. I _need _Peggy."

"Your sister's right, Petunia," said Mrs Evans.

"Of course she is," muttered Petunia darkly.

"It's unfair on her," Mrs Evans continued. "You can just phone up your friends, or mail them by post. But this is all Lily has."

"Ugh!" Petunia exclaimed again. "I can't believe you! You always take her side!"

"I'm sure Vernon won't mind, Tuney," Lily said sweetly. "Just give him a triple chocolate mudcake and all will be forgotten."

Before Petunia could retort, Mrs Evans said, "Lily, don't tease your sister."

Petunia turned around to face the dining table. "Daddy?"

Mr. Evans, a thin, bespectacled man with balding brown hair and a thin moustache, finally looked up from his paper. "I agree with your mother, dear," he said.

Petunia looked as if she was going to cry. "This is my marriage! My _marriage_! Not my school fair, not my birthday party, not another thing that can be overshadowed yet _again _by Lily's special freakiness... It's my marriage! Does that mean _anything _to you?"

Now she really was crying. Tears rolled down cheeks splotchy red with anger, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. Lily felt acutely uncomfortable. Petunia had always been angry, frustrated, mean, but she had hardly ever seen her sister cry.

Her parents seemed to be taken aback by this emotional display as well. Her mother wiped her hands on her apron and scuttled around the bench to embrace Petunia.

"Oh, Tuney, there there."

Lily did not have a good feeling about this.

Her mother looked up at her from behind Petunia's shoulder, her eyes imploring. _NO_, Lily thought. No way.

But again, that stupid letter, written by a little girl confused and hurt as to why she was not also as special as her sister, came to Lily's mind as it often did in situations such as this. She sincerely wished her mother had never shown her that letter.

"Alright," Lily heard herself say. Her stomach felt heavy. "I can send her to Alice for the summer...".

Her mother's face was filled with relief and gratitude. _Thank you_, she mouthed.

Lily honestly did not know how she would survive a whole two months with Vernon Dursley and her sister without her friends to keep her sane. She knew she would regret not fighting for this later.

"What do you say to Lily, Petunia?" said Mr Evans. It was like they were children again and Lily had just allowed Petunia to shove her school books and wand in the cupboard while her friends were over.

"Thank you," said Petunia weakly.

She then pulled away from her mother and stalked up the stairs to her room. The whole family breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, sitting in the library, Lily supposed it had not been too bad. She had kept herself occupied with stealing Petunia's _Vogue_ magazines - she had cut out a picture of a model that looked exactly like Kate to show her later - and exploring her childhood haunts around Spinner's End. Thankfully, but with a tiny pang of sadness, she had not bumped into Severus. She did not know if she would have been able to handle the awkwardness between them in the silence of the park, without their very different friends and excuses of homework to end the encounter. But she did know that both would have inevitably thought of that day in the summer of their fifth year, when her childhood friend and confidant had, in a moment of anger and humiliation, flung that unforgivable word at her. _Mudblood_.

Lily frowned as she thought of that time. She shook her head. No point wallowing over things past. Ever since then she had turned cold towards him. She should have seen this coming, what with his disturbingly obsessive interest in the Dark Arts, and his Slytherin friends filling his head with pure-blood ideology.

Lily looked at her watch. Three o' clock. _Shit_. She was supposed to be at a meeting that Dumbledore had requested with the Heads. With a flick of her wand she sent the textbook whizzing back to its place on the shelves, and the essay rolling itself up and slotting itself, along with the ink pot and quill, into her satchel. She grabbed her pack and raced out of the library.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Fawkes the phoenix was asleep on its perch. It's feathers - a palate of brilliant reds and golds - glowed in the sunlight that trickled through the shutters of Dumbledore's office. James watched the beautiful creature with fascination as it slept peacefully, it's little chest moving in and out slightly with each breath.

Dumbledore was sitting across from him behind his desk, hands clasped together on the rich mahogany table, his thick grey eyebrows furrowed in a slight frown above half-moon glasses. James thought he looked rather worn - the Headmaster's face was thinner than usual, and his silver beard did not seem to have the same lustre. The pair were sitting in silence, the only sound in the large room filled with knick-knacks was the _tick tock _from the wooden grandfather clock that stood by the doorway.

Lily was late. James tried not to feel smug about it, but could not help himself. It was normally he who was late to everything, and now the time had come for something important - a Heads meeting with the Headmaster - and James Potter, Marauding extraordinaire, was the punctual one.

It was as he was musing over this when Lily burst into the room. Her cheeks were flushed from the sprint, no doubt, and her dark red hair - as stunning as a phoenix's feathers, James thought - had a distinctly attractive wind-swept look.

"Sorry - Headmaster -" Lily panted.

Dumbledore nodded and indicated to the spare seat next to James. "That's alright, Miss Evans. Take a seat. It will only be a brief talk."

Lily sat down, giving James a curt nod of acknowledgement as she did. _Ahh Evans, always the false coldness._

"Well..." started Dumbledore. "I am sure you are both aware of the disturbing goings-on in the magical community at the moment."

James knew immediately what he was referring to. There had been news of several murders of prominent witches and wizards in the papers recently, all linked to a Dark wizard by the name of Voldemort.

"As such, I have been considering increasing the security around the school this year."

James was suddenly glad that old Terrence and Evelyn Potter - his parents - were retired. They had been Aurors at the Ministry for years, his father having even been Head Auror for a time before retiring amongst accolades for his last mission involving sending a prominent Dark wizard, Bartholomew Strauss, to a life sentence in Azkaban. Had they still been working for the Ministry they would have been at the forefront of the retaliation against Voldemort, who seemed to be presenting himself as a Dark force to be reckoned with.

"You may have noticed some students have not returned this year," continued Dumbledore. "Some parents do not wish to be parted from their children during these troubled times. And I have received many letters from other concerned parents regarding the safety of their children at Hogwarts. What I am proposing is patrols around the school by students - the Heads, of course, and Prefects. Mr Filch does a marvelous job but I am sure even he cannot be at two places at once. This is just to make sure no student is out of bed after hours and on their way out of the castle -" James swore Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes regarded him for a second too long "-as we cannot ensure their safety beyond these walls."

"Do you think we should be extremely worried about this wizard, Headmaster?" asked Lily, her tone strained.

Dumbledore regarded them both before saying, "Truth be told, it is far too early to tell. But for now, safety for our students is my main concern. I am sure the talented Aurors at the Ministry can handle this new wizard, just as they always have for others before him."

James felt a little relieved. He knew Dumbledore was a great wizard himself, and was sure his wisdom in these matters would prove to be true eventually. The discussion carried on for a while, with Dumbledore handing them timetables of when they would be patrolling.

Before he dismissed the meeting, Dumbledore advised them on a point that had been nagging James for a while. "You two are Heads of this school, and as such should lead by example. I must advise you to keep using Voldemort's name in any matter regarding him - I know some students have been calling him 'You Know Who' . Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. I knew Tom Riddle - or Voldemort, as he now calls himself - when he was a student at this school, and I can assure you, he is but a man, just like you and I." Dumbledore glanced to Lily. "And could just as likely have been a wonderful woman."

They both smiled at that. As they left Dumbledore's office, James chivalrously held the door open for Lily. Lily gave him a small smile of thanks (he was very slightly elated at that) as she stepped through.

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	3. Slug Club Fun

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**Chapter 3. **

"I think I'm in love," gushed Kate.

Lily widened her eyes at Alice. "Oh dear."

They were walking to their first class of the week, Potions.

"No no, I'm serious!" said Kate earnestly. "I really like him. You don't understand, we didn't meet up in the holidays. We've been writing each other all summer. I feel like I've known him for ages."

"So you haven't snogged him yet?" probed Alice.

"Honestly, Alice, there's more to love than just _snogging_," said Kate in a mock exasperated tone.

Alice stuck her tongue out at her.

"What's this about snogging?" said a male voice from behind them.

It was Garrick Armstrong, a tall, blond, handsome specimen, and Alice's boyfriend of almost five months. Lily didn't particularly like him very much. He had that air of smugness that she despised, and he wasn't very nice most of the time. Not that she would ever say that to Alice. She could see why she was besotted with him: he was fit, smart, charismatic, and - speaking for the female population at Hogwarts - quite a catch.

"Nothing," said Alice as he put his arm around her as they descended the stairs into the dungeons towards Potions.

While Alice focused her attention on Garrick, Kate and Lily continued to discuss Dillon. Beatrice, their dorm mate, helped.

"He and Sione dated for about three months last year," said Beatrice. "But she ended up dumping him."

"What happened?" Lily asked. Trust Beatrice to know; she had all the dirt on everyone, and would excitedly tell whoever wanted to listen. Lily still got along with her - or at least, tried her best to get along with her. After all, they had been sharing dormitories for the past six years. And Beatrice had her moments of charitable goodness - sometimes her mindless chatter managed to cheer up Lily, with everything from chocolate frogs to boys. But Lily would never confide her deepest darkest secrets to her unless she wanted them as common knowledge around school overnight.

"_I _heard that it's because he..." Beatrice lowered her voice, and Lily and Kate leaned in close. "...doesn't like intimacy. As in, physical intimacy."

Lily whistled and looked at Kate. Definitely not her type.

Kate did not seem too fazed, though. In fact, the look on her face was one of determination.

"Oh really? Tsk tsk, now that just won't do..."

Lily laughed. "You'll teach him a thing or two?"

Kate just smiled.

They reached the class and filed in. Lily had always found Potions the easiest - the intricacies of preparing each ingredient and how they all worked together came naturally to her - and most enjoyable out of all her subjects. It looked as if this year, however, that would not be the case. The second day back last week she had discovered that not only was James Potter taking Potions again (she swore he had never once opened his textbook last year) but Slytherins were also allocated the same period. Which meant that Severus was also in her class. Along with the painfully obvious favouritism by Professor Slughorn, Lily was sure that this year was the year Potions would cease to be her favourite subject.

Lily sank into a seat in the front row, hoping this would divert James who always had a natural aversion to places near any kind of authoritative figure. Last week she had made the mistake of sitting by the wall, and he had promptly taken the seat next to her. Unfortunately they had also been paired together for that day's task. When Lily rebuffed his romantic advances rather harshly, he spent the rest of the class lounging in his chair flirting with Beatrice, who was seated behind him and who giggled annoyingly, while Lily had taken over the brewing of their Infidelis Elixir.

_Not today_, thought Lily. Kate was sitting behind her with her new boy toy Dillon Finch. Lily was still taken aback that Kate had taken such a liking to him - he was good looking, she had to admit, but usually the extroverted, opinionated, egotistical ones appealed to Kate. A perfect example being Sirius Black. Oh God, Sirius Black over and over again. Ever since fifth year the infamous pair had an on-off, hormone-fueled relationship rife with jealousy and excessive public displays of affection. Lily was glad Kate had finally found a stable male, but right now she hadn't invested any confidence in them lasting. She also had a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason Kate was with him was because Dillon Finch was a Muggle-born, and no doubt word of their most scandalous union would get back to her strictly pure-blood mother, whom Kate loved to goad. But Lily was not the type to get involved - not that Kate would listen to her, anyway.

Alice was, of course, sitting with Garrick in the pair of seats to her right. Just then James entered the room, and Lily immediately looked away from the door. _Not here, not here, not here_. James came and sat down next to her. _Bollocks._

"Good morning, Evans." She noted with annoyance that his jet black hair was in its usual unkempt style. No doubt made to look like he had just hopped off a broom.

"Morning, Potter," Lily replied.

Thankfully, Professor Slughorn started the lesson before he could say any more (James had already begun to grate at her nerves - honestly, how could one person do that with a 'Good morning'?) and started to drone on about the various advantages and disadvantages of the Picumnus Potion they were to make today. Lily could not help but notice that Severus' seat at the back was still empty.

"Looking for Snivellus, Evans?" whispered James, eyebrows raised.

"No," said Lily, quickly turning back to face the front.

"I heard he's late because he only washes his hair once a year, and today's that special day."

"You are such a _git_, Potter," hissed Lily, and that elicited a smile from him.

Lily knew she had a right to be angry with Severus for a long while, but she could never feel anything but righteous anger whenever James or Sirius - it was always those two - were nasty to him. What had Severus ever done to them? They were undoubtedly the two most popular boys at Hogwarts, considered untouchable by the likes of an introverted, brooding Slytherin.

It was only as they were half way through chopping worm's heads to prepare the water for the potion when Severus hurried into the class, his shoulder-length black hair as greasy as always. James shot her a look of dismay, which Lily refused to acknowledge.

"Ahh, Mister Snape," said Slughorn as he caught Severus trying to quietly make his way to the back. "I hope you have a good reason as to why you are late to my class?"

Severus just looked at him for a moment before slowly answering, "I woke up late."

Slughorn looked a bit taken aback by his blunt answer, and paused before replying, "Alright, then. Seeing as how you were so honest I will not take any points off. But make sure it doesn't happen again."

Severus had already turned his back and started walking to his seat before Slughorn had finished addressing him. Lily could see how Severus had never been on the top of the list of Slughorn's favourite students. He could easily have been one of his prize students with his natural knack for Potions - better even than Lily - but Slughorn never seemed to know how to deal with his obvious disdain for authority.

By the end of the hour James had contributed nothing more than the final sprinkling of newt's tongue to their potion, which turned the bubbling mixture a deep, mossy green, the exact shade as indicated in the copy of _Advanced Potion Making _open next to them.

"I am amazing," said James.

Lily scoffed and said, "You lazy turd."

"I'm sorry, Miss Evans?" came Slughorn's voice from behind her.

_Whoops_. Lily smiled and looked up. "Amazing bird, Professor" she said, pointing to an intricate sketch of a multicoloured avian creature whose feathers (one and a half, to be precise) had provided the essential step in creating the consistency of the potion.

Professor Slughorn chuckled. "I could've sworn you said something quite different, Miss Head Girl. But yes, the _Harpia Rufigalis _is indeed an amazing bird. Normally flightless, but gains the ability of flight at twilight each fortnight. Quite extraordinary."

James, no doubt grinning next to her, said "Yes, amazing bird."

Lily desperately wanted to elbow him.

"I see your talent for Potions is just as brilliant as ever, Miss Evans," he said, seemingly impressed with the concoction as he swirled it with a wooden spatula.

"Thank you, Sir." _Please don't invite me to another tea party, please don't invite me to another tea party._

"A couple of similarly-minded students are coming for some stimulating conversation and nibbles at my office tonight after dinner. Would you care to join? I'm sure they'd be delighted to meet the Head Girl."

_I'm sure they would_, Lily thought dryly. She could not recall ever knowing, let alone caring, who the Head Girl was before this year.

"I'd be delighted, Sir."

Slughorn beamed. "Wonderful. I shall see you tonight, then." And with that he moved on.

"Nice save, Evans," approved James.

Lily gave him a small mock-salute.

The class ended soon after that, and she hurriedly packed away her things before James could catch up and insist on walking her to the next class. Also, so that she would not have to endure an awkward encounter with Severus while exiting through the doorway.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

It was seven o' clock, and the stone corridor of the dungeons were lit with the flickering lights from oil lamps mounted along the walls. Lily reluctantly made her way down this path to Slughorn's office, dreading another dull evening of tea and cakes and fake smiles. She was only in it for the potential connections she could make at Slughorn's annual Christmas party for when she entered the 'real' world; after all, how else would a Muggle-born like herself meet anyone of note?

Lily entered through a rough-hewn wooden door to discover everybody there, seated in a circle on squashy green armchairs.

"Lily!" greeted Slughorn from his own seat. "Welcome. So glad you could make it."

Lily smiled at him and sat herself down in the only spare seat.

"Everyone," said Slughorn, and the chatter stopped. "This is our Head Girl, Lily Evans. A most delightful and dedicated student, and the best at potions I've come across in a long time."

Lily tried to smile graciously as all the Sluggians turned to regard her. They looked at her expectantly, but when all she did was wave and give a cheery smile, they continued on with their conversations.

Lily registered who she was sitting next to: on one side was a Hufflepuff sixth-year, who was chatting amiably to her neighbour, and to Lily's right a person she recognised as Bryce Wilkinson, a seventh-year Seeker for Ravenclaw's Quidditch team. What she had not recognised before now was how good looking he was. His dark hair was groomed (always a plus), and curled just above broad shoulders. His chocolate-brown eyes were slightly drooped at the sides, giving him a sleepy look. But there was nothing sleepy about the way he smiled at her with those perfectly straight, white teeth of his.

He caught her appreciating his face. "Hi, Head Girl Lily Evans."

_Oh Merlin, kill me now_. His voice was deep and _di-vine_.

"Lily," she insisted. "You're... Wilkinson, right?"

"Call me Bryce." He looked around the room at everyone. "I've never been to one of these things before. Slughorn only noticed me because he caught me hexing a Slytherin today. I thought he was going to put me in detention, but he invited me round for tea instead."

Lily laughed. "Yeah, he's strange that way. I'm a veteran at these things. They can get a bit boring after a while, especially if you don't know anyone."

And it was true; she did not know anyone here. There were a couple of Slytherins from Slughorn's own House, a few Ravenclaws, the one Hufflepuff, and apart from Lily, a lost-looking fifth-year Gryffindor. Slughorn was deep in conversation with one of the Ravenclaw boys - he was probably related to someone of great note, since Slughorn was focusing all his attention on him.

"It does have its perks, though," Lily added when the table in front of them suddenly filled with cauldron cakes and butterbeer (not tea for a change, she noted pleasantly).

Bryce chuckled and reached for one of the cauldron cakes.

It carried on this way for another hour or so, but it sure did not feel like it to Lily. Bryce was a very good listener, it turned out. Unlike a certain someone she knew. He was so easy to talk to, and funny. Very funny. She snorted into her drink as he told her about his holidays and how he had joined a group of aboriginal wizards in a traditional dance around a bonfire. In the nude.

The snort was partly because she found it amusing, partly because an image of Bryce - a Quidditch captain, who no doubt underwent hours of vigorous physical training - without his clothes on popped into her head. She blamed Kate for perverting her this way.

"I'll see you at the next tea party?" said Bryce as they parted ways.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

And that was the end to what had turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant evening.

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	4. Moony, Patrols, and Quidditch

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**Chapter 4. **

"Only a few more days till your furry little problem, Moony," said Peter.

Sirius elbowed him roughly, and Peter yelped and glared at him.

The Marauders were at their usual place at dinner that evening, at the far end of the Gryffindor table. James gave Sirius a funny look at this exchange.

"Yeah, Moony..." said James. "Only a couple more days." He knew that he was assigned to do a patrol on the same night as the full moon this month, and he had been just about to break it to his friends nicely when Peter had opened his gob.

Remus looked at James, surprised. "You're coming?"

"Of course I'm coming," James blurted without thinking, highly offended. He had not even told them about the patrols, and they thought we wouldn't be coming? "Why wouldn't I?"

Sirius looked uncomfortable for a second. "Well, we figured...you know, since you're Head Boy and all..."

James stared at him. "You thought I wouldn't come because of that?" Then he thought of something else and his expression hardened. "You thought I'd tell Dumbledore?"

Peter said, "Yes."

Sirius elbowed him again before answering James. "Don't look at me like that. Of course we never said that you would _tell_. Just that, maybe…you wouldn't want to join in anymore. I mean, if we got caught-"

"-which we never _have_," James pointed out.

"Yeah, but _if_...you might lose your badge, or..."

"Do I look like I care about the damn badge?" snapped James.

For the first time, an uncomfortable silence reigned among the Marauders. The Great Hall continued to chatter, but the four boys sat silently. Remus was the first to break it.

"Sorry."

James merely grunted. Sirius tried to repair the damage.

"We're sorry. We could never go without you. We couldn't _be _the Marauders without you."

The three of them looked at James for a reaction. Finally he said, "Bloody right," and picked up his fork again. He was mentally kicking himself. His damn pride had gotten in the way of what he knew was the right choice yet again.

An almost audible sigh of relief issued from Peter as he, too, resumed eating. Sirius raised his eyebrows at Remus before turning back to James. "So, in three days time…"

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_I am going to kill him_.

After Dumbledore had _specifically_ asked them to patrol, being a matter of importance not just for ceremony but for the safetyof Hogwarts students, and James had not turned up. Why was she not surprised?

Lily stomped down the dim corridor. It was midnight on a chilly September evening, and there was no one about except Filch the caretaker and his mangy cat.

She glanced out a window as she passed. The moon was round and full, casting a ghostly glow over the castle grounds. Remus would be...different tonight. Poor guy. She really did feel sorry for him; he didn't deserve this life. He had only told her about his wolfish condition at the end of last year, after two years of being prefects together had brought them closer. She had been shocked, for sure, but Lily was generally not an extrovert when it came to emotions (except where James was concerned) and had not overreacted like she supposed he had expected her to.

Lily suddenly froze as she noticed a movement out in the field. There was something at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a small, dark shape that was only in the moonlight for a second before melting back into the darkness of the trees. It was too small to make out what it was, and too much of an indistinguishable blur of shadow to work out what it may have been. A chill went down her spine, and she sincerely hoped it was not Remus in his alternate form under the full moon. At the moment he would be more of an immediate danger to any student wandering out of the castle than any elusive Dark wizard.

Lily hugged her robes tighter to ward off the cold, her thoughts becoming tainted with anger as they retreated back to James and his absence. _No_, she told herself firmly. _Just breathe. Ignore him._

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"Evans!"

"Go away, Potter."

"I'm – sorry -" he said, panting as he finally caught up to her. Lily had been practically running away from him.

It was the morning after last night's lonely patrolling, and she had barely gotten any sleep. She was tired, irritable, and in no mood to argue with James. She was determined to ignore him, at least for the rest of the day.

"I… forgot about it. Sorry."

_Sure you did_, she said silently as she kept up her brisk pace. She bet he couldn't be bothered coming and deliberately went to bed early. That was so typically James.

"I'm _sorry_. I honestly forgot. Don't you think I would have wanted to be there, all alone with you, in the dark with no-"

Lily spun around to face him, so abruptly that he almost crashed into her. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not one of those girls in your little fan club. You can't win me over with your sweet talk and your good looks, all right?"

She was dismayed when he grinned. "You think I'm good looking?"

Lily almost screamed. Biting back her words, and by sheer force of will her hand away from her wand, she stalked off.

"Evans!" She heard him call after her. "Wait! Come back! I didn't mean it!"

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"I've ruined it," said James into his hands.

"Nah, mate," reassured Sirius, clapping him on the back. "It's just a setback. You'll think of something."

The four of them were sitting in the Common Room. The stormy weather would not allow them to set a foot outside, so they were relaxing – or in James' case, grieving – indoors.

James knew he had been in the wrong, intentionally disregarding the new patrol system, but when his friends had shown doubt in his loyalty (_after all we've been through!_) and blindingly assumed he had suddenly turned into a goody two shoes with his Head Boy badge, he had gotten carried away in proving to them he was still James 'Prongs' Potter.

Remus was engrossed in his letter to Sarah, which was beginning to resemble a novel. Peter was throwing a Remembrall up in the air and attempting to catch it.

"I just...I don't know how to talk to her. She's so _different_ to other girls. Why does she have to be so bloody different?"

"I thought that's what you liked about her," said Peter as he threw the ball up. His flailing hands missed it by a good inch on its way down and it bounced off his face.

"Yeah, I guess..."

Sirius gave a mock gasp of alarm. "Don't tell me you're having..._second thoughts_ about fancying Evans, are you?"

"No," said James. "No, it's not that. It's just..." James turned to Remus. "Hey Moony, I've seen you talking to her. What do you two talk about?"

Remus looked up from his letter. "I don't know. Just, stuff."

James nodded with a serious look on his face. "Please elaborate."

Remus grinned and put down his quill. "Things that _don't_ include asking her out, trying to flatter her, pick-up lines. You know, things like that."

James rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see. And, uh...what else?"

"Just _talk _to her. You know, like you talk to us." Remus paused and thought about that for a while. "Maybe _not_ like you talk to us. But to other people. You don't go around asking McGonagall out, do you?"

Sirius had a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"Shut it, Black," said James, and Sirius laughed.

"I have to do something," James finally decided, completely ignoring Remus' advice. Remus was used to this by now and merely watched his friend's expression of determination with mild amusement. "Something drastic. Something she'll _have _to notice."

xxxxxxxxxx

Lily headed out to the quidditch pitch where she had agreed to meet Kate and Alice. She had just finished attending a lunch get-together with Slughorn which had been spent talking (and perhaps a bit of flirting?) with Bryce. That was why she was in a marginally better mood than yesterday.

She knew that that mood would not last for long, though. Not with James and his fat head, flying around on his broom and showing off. So he was captain of the team - _big deal_. As she approached the pitch, she began to doubt her decision in coming. She was only there because Alice had come to support Garrick, who had to do a re-tryout as Keeper.

The weather was downright miserable. Stormy grey rain clouds brewed overhead, threatening the downpour that was predicted for tonight. A rough September wind buffeted the trees surrounding the pitch, and blew Lily's hair every which way. It looked as though her head was up in dark red flames as she made her way up to where Kate and Alice were sitting in the stands. Lily was not surprised to see a group of girls jittering excitedly in the front row. They really were an embarrassment to Hogwarts and themselves, stamping their feet and shrieking every time James did a loop in the air. And they went _especially_ crazy whenever he flew with one hand and rumpled his hair with the other. Sirius Black, who was languishing in the stands a few rows down, was shot a couple of admiring looks every few seconds. Obviously he was too 'composed' for Quidditch.

Lily was halfway up the stands when James waved at her mid-loop. It was really quite amusing to see the bunch of girls whip round in unison to see who had stolen his attention. By the time she had reached Kate and Alice, the fan club was cheering again.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Have you ever seen anything as pathetic?"

As they were contemplating performing a silencing charm on them, just for a few minutes, one of the fliers on the pitch broke away from the group and flew towards the three girls. It was Frank Longbottom, a shaggy-haired seventh-year. He dismounted and jogged up the stands to where they were seated.

"Hey, Frank," they greeted him.

"Hi Kate, Lily." He nodded to Alice. "Alice."

Alice waved at him.

He sat down next to her. "So how were your holidays?"

Lily thought - and Kate agreed - that Frank had a bit of a thing for Alice, which Alice always firmly denied. She and him were merely good friends, and she'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much. Besides, she had her 'amazing boyfriend' Garrick. Frank was a nice guy, and in her opinion, _much_ better for Alice than that git Garrick. His affections were so obvious, the way he beamed at her when she talked to him. He had the most gorgeous, dimpled smile, and his brown hair flopped over his eyes in an adorable way.

Kate and Lily exchanged looks with raised brows. Alice, knowing what they were thinking and without even turning around, elbowed Kate in the ribs while chattering away to Frank about the jellyfish that almost killed her.

The tryouts officially started, and Frank left them, with a pat on the back for Alice before he went down the stands for his broom.

"Oh _Aaalice_," sang Lily as she leaned forward past Kate to look at her.

"No," said Alice, pointing a finger at Lily. Kate waggled her eyebrows, and she directed her finger at her instead. "He gave me a _pat on the back_. He doesn't like me any more than a friend!"

"He's just nervous, that's all," said Lily.

"It's cute," Kate cooed.

Alice scrunched up her nose.

They watched as the tryouts proceeded. First were the aspiring Beaters of the group, then the Chasers, the Seekers, and finally, the Keepers. Alice cheered (sounding not unlike the Potter fan club she had mocked a few moments ago) when it was Garrick's turn. He did quite well, saving four of the five goals that James aimed at the hoops and just missing the last one. He ended up keeping his position as Keeper.

Lily had to admit, James really was a good flier. After the tryouts he was zooming around the pitch (to the delight of the fan club), out-flying everyone present. You could sense his exhilaration even from this distance as he sped along. Not that she was particularly looking at him that closely, mind you. James had now gotten his wand out, and she could not make out what spell he had used, but his broom now issued a trail of bright pink clouds. He was going crazy, doing loops and things, the pink clouds suspended in a pattern mid-air. Lily had a bad feeling about this - she could sense it in her stomach. The clouds now started to take shape; he was spelling out _LILY_.

Kate and Alice were laughing. Lily watched, fists clenched, seeing what he was writing next. _I'M SORRY_ the pink trail spelled out.

James took out his wand and flicked it at his broom and it stopped puffing out clouds. He was still hovering in the air, but clearly looking her way. Everyone on the pitch and in the stands had turned to look at her. Lily tried very hard to keep a straight face; she could not help the little smile, though. For students 'in the know' regarding James Potter's attempts to woo Lily Evans, this scene was reminiscent of last valentines when James had written in fluffy pink letters across the sky, '_MARRY ME EVANS'_. Lily had been mortified.

He flew over to the stands and stopped near her, stepping down from his broom. Lily was aware of the fan club glaring her way. He came towards her and stood there, not saying anything, looking at her earnestly with those hazel eyes.

"Fine," she finally gave in, "I forgive you. But if you ever do it again-"

"-I won't," he said. Then he blew her a kiss (Lily grimaced) and mounted his broom and sped back to the pitch.

Kate sighed. "You are so lucky."

Before she opened her mouth to argue, Alice cut in. "You _are_. Potter can be an idiot sometimes, but it's obvious how much he likes you. I mean, Garrick's never done anything like that for me..." she said as she looked at the pink _LILY I'M SORRY_ stretched across the sky.

"Lily, just go out with him once," Kate urged.

"Oh, no," she said quickly. "No no no no..."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because he's _Potter_."

"And?"

"_And_?" Hadn't Kate been listening to her complain about him for years? What was this 'and' business?

"No," she said once again. "Besides, there's someone else..."

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	5. Plans, Proposals, and Creeps

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**Chapter 5.**

"I'm fat."

These were the words Lily woke to one cloudy October morning. None of the Gryffindor girls had morning classes, and she was having a much-needed sleep in when Alice woke her with this lovely statement.

She groaned and forced her heavy eyes open to see Alice inspecting herself in the full-length mirror Beatrice had set up near her bed.

Kate, from her place on the four-poster bed next to Lily's, groaned as well and said, "Not this again."

Though no one would have guessed from Alice's carefree demeanor, she was very insecure about her figure. Personally Lily thought Alice was beautiful, and not just because she was her friend. Alice was not what people would call skinny (especially standing next to Kate) but mostly it was her generous bosom and hourglass build that gave that impression. Alice had a lot to be proud of: she had the most amazing, voluminous, honey-blonde hair that practically turned Lily's dark red, sensibly-styled one green with envy. Her large brown doe-eyes were framed by thick lashes, and she had an infectious, bubbly laugh that put everyone who heard it in a good mood.

"Look at my pot belly," said Alice, standing side on to the mirror and rubbing her tummy through her nightgown.

"Alice, you look fiiine," said Lily groggily.

"Mmm..."

Kate aimed a pillow at her head, which missed and landed with a thump on Beatrice's snoozing form. "Shut up! You're gorgeous. I would kill to have those boobs."

That made her laugh. "Yeah… I was with Garrick yesterday, and he kind of mentioned…"

Kate swore, and Lily forced herself up. "What did he say this time?"

Alice shrugged and moved away from the mirror, shoving Lily over to sit on the side of her bed. "He kind of _insinuated_… that I may have gained weight. And that maybe I should lay off the pastries for a while?"

Kate gasped. "He _didn't_."

Lily was starting to dislike Garrick even more.

"The wanker!" Kate went on.

"Honestly, Alice," said Lily, "you could do so much better him."

"But that's the thing," said Alice, her voice resigned. "He's Garrick Armstrong – I can't do any better than him. The thing is... I don't even know why he's with me when he's got so many girls after him."

Kate threw her last pillow, and this time it hit Alice on the side of her head. "Bollocks. It's because you're kind and gorgeous and you're too good for him, _that's _the thing."

"Alice..." implored Lily. "You know I always see him talking to Emma Watts... He flirts with every girl who bats her eyes at him." Lily always regretted saying these things to Alice, but it was true.

Alice pursed her lips at that. "I know, I know. Garrick's a hopeless flirt, but I know he would never do anything more behind my back. He's a charmer. And I know girls talk to him. But that's part of the reason I like him, you know?" she said with an adorable smile.

"If you say so," said Kate, laying back down, pillow-less. "Could you hand me my pillow? I seem to have used them all up on your stupidity."

Alice laughed and chucked the pillow back at Kate.

xxxxxxxxxx

"So, gentlemen," Sirius addressed the Marauders. "What are we doing for Halloween?" He rubbed his hands together with a mischievous grin.

The four of them were in the common room, on the far side near the window overlooking the Black Lake, out of hearing range. Halloween was in a week's time and that meant the Marauder's annual Halloween prank at the feast. By this year, everyone knew who was responsible, and it was an event not to be missed. The teachers had a strong suspicion, too, but without proof they could not convict them.

"Remember, it's our last year. We have to make it extra special," said James.

"Something with a bang!" said Peter excitedly.

Sirius nodded, "I like where this is going."

Peter looked pleased with himself, as if he had just been awarded the highest of praises.

Remus just chuckled and shook his head, opting to continue his letter to Sarah rather than join in.

"C'mon, Moony," urged James. "Don't try to get out of this, you're part of it whether you like it or not."

"All right then, Mr Head Boy," said Remus, looking up. "I think if you're pranking it should be directed at someone. Or a group of people, to be precise."

"Exactly," agreed Sirius. "I wonder. What group of people would deserve such nastiness?"

James put on a mock serious thinking face. "Hmm.. I wonder. Who does _everybody_ in the school hate?"

"And who hates everybody except their own?" continued Remus.

Sirius had a wicked gleam in his eye as he regarded his friends. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Slytherins!" exclaimed Peter, pumping his fist in the air.

Sirius said, "Yes, Slytherins."

James suddenly sat up straighter, a wide grin on his face.

"Spill it, Prongs," said Sirius. "What are you thinking?"

James continued grinning at him, seemingly elated at nothing and said, "I'm a genius." He sprang up from the couch and headed towards the portrait hole, saying, "Hang on a sec, I've just got to go take care of something..."

Sirius shook his head. "Completely bonkers."

He turned when he heard velvety laughter coming from the other side of the room. It was Kate King sitting with her friend Alice. Evans wasn't there, so he thought it would be safe to approach.

He turned back to Remus and Peter. Before he could say anything, Remus, who had been watching him, smirked and said, "By all means, go."

Sirius grinned wolfishly and turned towards the girls.

xxxxxxxxxx

"What?" said Kate to Alice.

Alice, in the middle of Kate's gushing about Dillon Finch and his luscious body (and personality, too), started doing funny things with her eyes. She was widening them, and looking pointedly to her left.

"Behind you," Alice hissed.

Kate turned to see Sirius Black walking towards them and groaned. "Alice, help me with this. Don't let me agree to anything stupid."

"How are you lovely ladies doing this afternoon?" Kate heard Sirius' voice from behind her.

"We're good, thanks. How're you?" said Alice, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

Sirius obviously took this as an invitation to sit. He plonked himself down on the spare seat next to Kate.

"Yes, please sit down, Black," she said sarcastically.

Sirius looked at her. "Why the sudden change of name? Didn't we have _such_ good times last year?"

Kate could feel Alice smirking and suspected some eye rolling also.

Kate sighed dramatically. "We sure did. But that was a long time ago."

Sirius gave her a sly grin. "That's what you said before Christmas last year. You _do _remember what happened on Christmas, don't you? I think you-"

"All right!" Kate said desperately, cutting him off before he began that particular anecdote. "That was then. I'm not stupid enough to fall for your charms twice."

His striking grey eyes bored into her. Those mysterious, brooding eyes. And his annoyinglyperfect hair mocked her. Okay, Dillon did not measure up anywhere close to Black in terms of looks. But she had to stand strong against his womanizing ways. She'd had enough drama last year.

Again, the sly grin. "Twice? Oh, I think it was more along the lines of-"

"All right, all right! What do you want, anyway?"

"Fancy a trip to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Sirius asked.

Kate was a bit taken aback. He'd never _asked_ her before; he'd always arrogantly assumed that she would without a doubt. And she hadn't exactly done anything in the past to prove him wrong. But now she would get him back. "I think I'm going to have to pass. But thank you."

For the first time in his life, Sirius Black had been rejected. His face was indiscernible as he said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can postpone it."

Kate bristled. "Actually, no, Black, I can't."

"Bloody hell, what's so important that you can't go on a date with me?" said Sirius losing his composure.

There were so many things wrong with that sentence. She hated herself for falling for this arrogant prick, again and again.

"Well it's not that I _can't_, exactly. It's more that I don't want to. You see, I have a new man in my life... Oh, don't look so surprised!"

Sirius did looked shocked. "So you're telling me you're willing to give up all those good times we had for Dillon _twat_ Finch?"

"He is not a twat!"

While Sirius argued back, Alice, who had been silently watching this exchange in secret amusement, groaned inwardly. _Where the hell is Lily?_

xxxxxxxxxx

Lily struggled to make her way to Gryffindor tower. The strap of the satchel full of heavy Transfiguration textbooks was digging into the right shoulder, so that she had to walk with an awkward, lopsided limp. To say she was not in the best mood would be an understatement - she had just rushed through an essay on self-Transfiguration, having just found the piece of parchment she had hurriedly scribbled the homework on at the bottom of her bag. It had been due the next hour, and when she had finally handed it in - a messy, ink-splotched, ill-researched failure of an essay - it was already two hours overdue. By then the dull pain in her head had developed into a thumping headache.

Finally, she reached the painting of Sir Cadogan covering the portrait hole entrance into the common room and spoke the password, "Flobberworms."

Nothing happened. Sir Cadogan, in his full knight's armour, did not give any indication that he had heard her. He was struggling to get himself up onto the fat pony of his.

"Flobberworms," Lily repeated, leaning towards the portrait.

"I can - hear you - fine," he said as he wrestled with the saddle. "You've got the wrong password."

"What? But you just changed it yesterday!"

"Yes - I - know," he puffed. He gave up and turned to face her. "But I have been informed from a reliable source that 'Flobberworms' is not a very secure word. Too easy, you see."

"What is it then?" she asked.

"Go to Hogsmeade with me, Evans?" piped a small voice from behind her.

Lily whipped around, and a skinny boy a head shorter than her who had been waiting for Sir Cadogan, started and looked distinctly frightened when Lily yelped, "_What did you say_?"

Sir Cadogan said, "Right-o. Go on in," and swung outward to reveal the portrait hole.

The boy scurried inside as she stared in shock after him.

The portrait swung shut again and Sir Cadogan jumped, not expecting to see her still standing there, hands on hips. "I thought you wanted to go inside?" he asked.

"Was _that_ the password? '_Go to Hogsmeade with me, Evans?_'"

"It certainly was," he said indignantly. "A sentence, albeit simple, is a password with much better security than simply a single word. So I was assured by a fine young man who-"

"And you _listened_ to him?"

"Of course I did. He's Head Boy, you know. A charming lad, he is-"

"All right! Let me in, please," said Lily, fuming.

He looked offended at having been interrupted. "Password?"

"Go to Hogsmeade with me Evans," she said flatly.

The painting swung open and she clambered through, swearing as her heavy satchel banged against her shins. Once inside, she looked furiously around the common room. "Potter!" she yelled. She was being quite loud, but right now, she could not care less. Keeping it between them was one thing, but changing the password that all the bloody Gryffindor's used, _including _the little first-years...

From the couches by the left Black stood up hurriedly, looking startled. Lily expected to see James and the rest of his group with him, but to her surprise it was Kate and Alice sitting there. Kate mouthed, 'thank you'. Lily would talk to her later. Right now, she was going to _kill_ that big-headed, arrogant, self-centred, self-

"So what do you say, Evans?"

Lily whipped around and there he was, giving her that lopsided grin, hands in his pockets. She dumped her bag on the ground. "You! I cannot believe you! You are so-" His face fell as she raved, as if he thought she would've been impressed by it. That just made her more mad - he had no right to look upset! "-so full of yourself! How dare you do that? In front of everyone? You think you're so amazing. You are _the most_ frustrating, arrogant-"

"All right!" he yelled.

Lily stopped, stunned.

"All right, I get it, you hate me. And yes, I may be the most frustrating, arrogant, slimy toadstool - or whatever you were going to say - you have ever met, but _you_ are the most annoying, beautiful, frustrating girl _I have ever_ _met_!"

The pair stood there, huffing and puffing at each other. The common room was silent, and Lily could feel everyone's eyes on them. "Fine," she said coolly. All other responses escaped her. She was very much aware of all the stares, and knew she had been yelling her head off and her face was flushed with anger. Lily turned and stormed out back through the portrait hole.

He did not come after her, and she did not expect him to. He _had _looked upset. The scene replayed in her head as she stormed down the corridor and down the stairs, towards the Entrance Hall: his face, that grin, that look of expectancy and hope, falling when she started to yell. Had he actually thought she would like the password trick? Had he considered that flirting? Or charming? Lily did give some consideration to the fact that she _may_ have overreacted; that perhaps her frustration at failing an assignment had fueled her anger, but she soon quashed those thoughts. _No. Potter is a git._

Students who had been milling about the Hall hurriedly scurried out of her way when they saw her coming, a sight akin to that of a raging bull. She had to get outside for a bit and cool off. James was the only one who could make her this mad. Who knew what she would do if someone ticked her off right now?

The wind outside hit her in a gust of fresh air, and she inhaled deeply. Breathe. In, out, in, out. All she had on was her flimsy school robes, which the wind easily breezed through. No way in hell was she going back up there, though. Lily crossed her arms and marched determinedly across the grounds, head against the wind, towards her favourite spot in the summer by the Black Lake. _Beautiful_, he had said. This particular word, and his voice along with it, came back to her. She angrily gave it a mental push to the side. _No, Lily. Focus. Potter is an arrogant toerag and you should not feel bad for what you said. He had no right to do what he did. None at all. _She had never given him so much as a hint that she liked him, he had been way over the line...

Lily gave herself this encouraging talk as she approached the lake. She started when she saw someone already standing there, back towards her looking out over the dark waters.

"Bryce?"

Bryce Wilkinson turned around at his name. "Lily? What are you doing out here?"

Lily shook her head as she made her way towards him and stopped to stand next to him at the waters edge. "Long story."

"Don't want to talk about it?" he asked.

"It's just...Potter."

"Ah," he said. He knew all about her grudge against James; she frequently liked to Potter-bash during Slug Club meetings.

"Yeah..." she said. "What are you doing?"

Bryce shrugged. "I just like to come out here to think..." He looked out over the black waters rippling in the wind. He laughed. "You probably think I sound ridiculous."

"No, not at all!" she assured him. _To think_. Good looking _and _sensitive. Now here was a real man. "I know exactly what you mean."

The wind gave a particularly big gust, and she shivered and drew her arms closer. Bryce immediately undid the clasp of his cloak and shrugged it off. Ignoring her protests, he wrapped it around her. She ceased all resistance after that; it was nice and warm from his body heat, and that wind was way too chilly.

Before Lily knew it, or could keep ahold of her tongue, she was recounting the reason why she was out here. She left out the things James had yelled back at her. Bryce listened patiently to her ramblings, and she was taken aback when he laughed at the end of it. "So I see you _really_ didn't want to go to Hogsmeade with him."

Lily laughed, too (she was not sure why, only that he had an extremely nice laugh, deep and rumbling). "No, not particularly."

"How about with me?"

Lily looked up at him. He was still gazing out across the lake, but turned towards her to meet her stare. "Only if you want to," he said quickly.

Lily suddenly realised she had been silent, and shook herself out of her shock. _Wake up, Lily!_ "Of course I want to!" She grimaced inwardly; she sounded like a bloody third-year.

He laughed. "I'm glad. I've been wanting to ask you for ages, you know. I was just...working up the courage..."

Bryce Wilkinson - a fit, quidditch-playing, sensitive guy - had been working up the courage to ask _Lily Evans_ out. She felt giddy all of a sudden, and silently snickered at the patheticness of it. But when a girl has not been asked out for three years, a girl had the right to act pathetically. People had no idea how hard it was finding a date when everyone thought of her as 'Potter's property'.

xxxxxxxxxx

_That Wilkinson creep._ It was sickening, really. Giving her his cloak? Couldn't Lily see it was all an act? That he only wanted one thing? It couldn't be because he genuinely liked her; how could he? He barely knew her! It was only her stunning looks he saw. James thought Lily was smarter than that.

Sure, the thought that he was being highly hypocritical entered his head. James himself liked to flirt, on the odd occasion, with other girls too. He had even dated a few of them, but all had been in the vain hope that they would help him get over Lily Evans. James had always been the one to end it, because every time he saw Lily look over at him with his arm around another girl he could sense her growing even more distant from him.

And so he had watched Wilkinson and Lily from the window of the Gryffindor tower after she had stormed off, the two of them standing close together looking out over the lake. He could tell that Lily was laughing by the way she tilted her head and her shoulders shook gently. She had laughed quite a lot during their conversation. Wilkinson couldn't have been _that_ witty.

James sulked over it as he lay in bed. He glared up into the dark and listened to Peter's snores, Sirius' heavy breathing and Remus' mutterings about plump figure skaters.

It was the end of a long day; Lily had not spoken a word to him throughout Potions, which was quite an achievement considering he was sitting right next to her. Then again, he hadn't made much of an effort either. He had thought of apologising, as he always did. But the things he'd said, however much he regretted saying them, had been true. She _was_ the most frustrating girl he had ever met. It was so obvious she had liked the message in clouds he'd spelt out for her during the Quidditch team tryouts, and there had been people around then, hadn't there? So how was changing the password any different? Perhaps he should have used _Lily_ instead of _Evans_? He honestly thought she would have liked it; wasn't it one of those 'romantic' or 'cute' things girls giggled over? He just didn't get it.


	6. Arguments, Bribes, and Bangs

**Thank you so much to all those that reviewed :) Sorry if this chap seems a little disjointed, I've combined some that I'd already written because the original was too short. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless! And as always, reviews are much appreciated.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"_You're_ _going to Hogsmeade with Bryce Wilkinson_?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lily honestly did not know how James had found out. It had only been three days days since that day by the lake, and she had only told Alice and Kate that night in their dorms, giggling from underneath her bedsheets. She thought about it. Perhaps Beatrice had not been asleep after all...

"What do you mean, why?" Lily snapped. "Because I want to."

Lily was in the library, and had been working on another Transfiguration assignment (this time trying to get it done ahead of time), when James had come bursting in, all demanding and self-righteous.

"But..." was all James managed to say.

"But _what_?" She looked up at him expectantly.

"But - but... he's Bryce Wilkinson...captain of Ravenclaw Quidditch team. And we're playing them tomorrow, first match of the season. You're supposed to be a Gryffindor, Head Girl at that."

Lily bit back a loud sigh. She did not know what she'd been expecting him to say. Just something other than because of _Quidditch_. "Oh, please, like I give a rat's arse about Quidditch."

She was trying to keep her voice down, but James really was getting on her nerves. Madam Pince the librarian was glaring at them as their voices rose.

Lily could see James desperately scrabbling for an excuse. "You can't go with him."

At this point she slammed down her quill and glared up at him fiercely. "And why not? Because he's not you?"

James opened his mouth, and she waited for his reply, but Madam Pince had had enough. She briskly walked over to the table and ordered them out. Lily shoved her things into her bag and gladly left. Thankfully, James did not follow as she strode out of the library.

xxxxxxxxxx

Kate swore as she dropped the pouch full of golden Galleons onto the floor of the owlery right into a small pile of owl droppings. Wrinkling her nose, she carefully picked it up with two fingers by its draw-strings. She mused over the idea of sending it back to her mother as it was, but thought she'd better not. Just the fact that her mother had sent any money at all was a testament to how desperate she must be - everyone knew the King's were broke. The dung was easily cleaned with a _Scourgify_.

"Peggy," Kate called. Lily had let her borrow her owl for this special trip. "Come here, Peggy."

Lily's large tawny owl swooped down from somewhere in the rafters, and landed on the sill of the wide window in front of her.

"Hey there, girl," she crooned, gently petting the owl's head. Peggy hooted happily.

She made sure the pouch would stay closed with a fastening charm, and secured it to Peggy's leg.

"Hope this isn't too heavy for you, girl. And don't be scared of the bitchy-looking lady when you get there, okay?" Kate said to her.

While she had said it in jest, Arabella King probably would be capable of intimidating even a delivery owl, now that Kate thought about it. Her mother had a commanding presence, and not just because of her towering height. Arabella King was an aristocrat; a pure-blood; the daughter of one of the oldest pure-blood families and the widower of a wizard from an equally prestigious bloodline. This was the pedestal she looked down on others from, especially those opposing her narrow-minded views on pure-blood superiority.

People often said Kate was the spitting image of her mother. She hated hearing this - her mother was beautiful, she had to admit, but she refused to believe she had the same cold, dark stare, or the same straight, aristocratic nose perpetually turned up at outsiders, or the same full lips that were often found in a sneer at the preposterous idea of a union between those magical and those not. She tried her best to lessen the resemblance - Kate kept her dark hair long and tousled, unlike the slicked-back locks of her mother. And in terms of resembling her in attitudes... Kate was terrified that deep down, she was just the same. After all, the 'pure' blood that ran in her mother's veins also ran in Kate's. Could a simple hair style change all that?

If Kate had not been put into Gryffindor in her first year of Hogwarts, she had no doubt she really would have ended up a true spitting image of her mother. But ever since she had met Lily and Alice, her views on all that had been ingrained in her had flipped. Muggle-borns were true witches too, she found out; Lily was the top of the class in almost every subject, a natural with her wand. Alice had helped her realise that 'blood traitors', those pure-blood that did not hold the same strict views on blood purity, were not witches and wizards to be despised.

Kate remembered her mother's reaction upon finding out she had been placed in Gryffindor instead of taking her rightful place in Slytherin. It was breakfast, and the scrawny, gangly first year with crooked teeth, as Kate had been back then, had received a red envelope from her mother. The people sitting immediately around her had gone silent, knowing what this meant. _Howler_. Kate had felt her stomach drop, and her already pale skin had whitened in horror.

"It's okay, Kate. Open it," Alice had said, taking Kate by the hand and gripping it tightly - Alice's ability to calm and reassure her had been acute even then.

Lily, who had no idea why everyone had suddenly hushed at the arrival of the red envelope, shot Kate a worried look and watched it anxiously.

Kate took a breath. She reached over and opened the seal slowly.

What ensued was the most embarrassing moment of Kate's life. Her mother's voice - normally a cold, soft but authoritative sound - had taken on the volume of a thousand incensed banshees. She could not recall what she had said exactly, and even then she had been sitting in such a shock that all she heard were certain words - _DISAPPOINTED. DISGRACE. ASHAMED._ But the one word she had desperately hoped her mother would not use was bellowed out for everyone in the Great Hall to hear: _MUDBLOODS. MUDBLOODS. MUDBLOODS._ Over and over Arabella spat that word, which reverberated through the crowds and up towards the great glass ceiling.

Then just as abruptly as it started, the ordeal was over. The Great Hall sat in silence for a moment, before being broken by the cackling and hoots of a few students at the Slytherin table. Kate could feel the stunned looks of her peers, and she wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. Lily had touched her arm, then, and Kate had woken up from her shock and, tears streaming, had run from the hall and away from the sea of faces.

For the first three summers after that she had cowered under her mother's taunts and verbal abuse in the breaks between terms, accepting her fate as a grave disappointment of a daughter whose life would end in misery if she were to marry a Muggle-born. Her father had been too busy warming his belly with firewhiskey every night and slowly gambling away the House of King's wealth - her inheritance - to care much about his daughter's abhorrent allegiances.

As the years passed and her younger brother, Regan King, grew older, her mother began to lose faith in ever getting through to her daughter and instead focused her attention on bringing up the perfect, pure-blood, prejudiced wizard. He was to be starting at Hogwarts next year, and Kate did not have much faith in the Sorting Hat making the same mistake twice. By then Kate had begun to openly defy her, from tactics ranging from dating Muggle-borns and knowing full well her mother would hear of it (the major pure-blood families and their offspring loved nothing more than juicy gossip), to taunting her with smaller things such as taking Muggle studies, which Kate herself had absolutely no interest in.

Last year when her father had died from liver failure and possibly, Kate liked to muse sometimes, out of boredom, having gambled away the King family fortune and leaving nothing left to play with, she had taken leave from class and attended his funeral. Arabella had not shed a tear at the service, after which she had not discussed her husband at all, opting to belittle her daughter about making friends with some pure-bloods that were not blood traitors, preferably Slytherins. Her appeals had fallen on deaf ears, and Kate had returned to Hogwarts without any resolve to give up her loyal friends for her mother's hate-filled life.

The bag of Galleons she had received this morning with the post and that she was now sending back home had come with a note attached with a similar appeal, imploring Kate to please, _please_ associate with witches and wizards of better blood this year. Kate had angrily burned the note, and come marching up to the owlery to send the bribery money right back.

Peggy ruffled her feathers for a moment, then leapt off the ledge and swooped out into the cloudy morning. Kate watched her glide away from Hogwarts and imagined her mother's face as she received the pouch - would it be one of anger? Frustration? Hate?

Kate turned away from the ledge and made her way back to where she truly felt home.

xxxxxxxxxx

"I don't want to go!" Lily wailed as Kate and Alice dragged her down the corridor.

They were off to Transfiguration; her first class with James, and the first time she would see him since their encounter in the library yesterday. Lily had been avoiding him like the plague till now.

"You're Head Girl, Lily-flower," said Kate as she linked arms with Lily and quickened her pace.

"That's right," said Alice, attaching herself onto Lily's other arm. "You have to go to every single one of your classes. Whether Potter is in it or not."

Lily groaned. "Nooo, I really, really don't want to…"

Kate tutted. "And you also have to apologise to Potter for being such a bitch to him."

The pair had spent the night telling Lily how this time it was she who was in the wrong. Of _course_ James would be upset that she was going with Bryce; he'd had a crush on her for ages. And couldn't she have been a bit nicer when he confronted her about it?

To which Lily's argument had been: Never! He was the one being a prat about it; he didn't have the right to tell her who to go out with, or the right to be upset if she didn't choose to go with him. But when those two had their mind set on something, they were like rabid three-headed dogs. So in the end, mainly for the need of sleep, Lily solemnly vowed that she would apologise to James first thing the next morning. And now she was deeply regretting it.

They reached Transfiguration class. _Please don't be there, please don't be there_. Lily quickly scanned the room. He was there. Sod it.

She hesitated in the doorway, and Kate lightly shoved her back from behind. She lurched forward towards him. James looked sideways at her as she took the seat next to him without a word, acknowledging her presence, before turning to face the front again. Lily pretended to be occupied; she made a big fuss of getting out some parchment, quill and ink from her bag and arranging it on the desk. With her textbook, she took some time finding the page they were on, and then some more was spent having to shuffle around the writing utensils to make room for it. Then she ran out of things to do, so she sat there, twiddling her thumbs. The awkward silence was killing her.

Alice painfully jabbed her in the back with her wand. _Oh, right. Apology._

Lily took a deep breath, and said, "Potter."

Kate groaned quietly, and Lily also heard Alice's sigh. James did not look away from the front; he was ignoring her, _the git._

"Potter," she repeated.

She was certain of it, he really was ignoring her - she had not exactly said it quietly. He was staring directly ahead, looking at the blank blackboard with intense interest. Lily could not help but notice that his hair was messier than usual, and he had what looked like a smudge of soot on his cheek. This was not going well. Ignoring was _her _thing! And here he was, using it against her. Fortunately, McGonagall started the lesson before she could embarrass herself further. There. She had tried her best; if he wanted nothing to do with her, that was fine with Lily.

Half the lesson passed, but he was unusually subdued throughout it. Sirius, sitting in front of them with Remus (Peter having miserably failed Transfiguration last year), and who was usually up to something or other, was as well; he did not turn around once during the lesson, or so much as cough. McGonagall must have noticed too; she kept sneaking looks behind her as she was writing on the board, as if this quietness was the calm before the storm.

"Psst." Kate passed Lily a scrap of parchment.

It read: _Try again_

Lily replied: _No!_ and passed it back. Lily heard her rapidly scratch something down. She passed it forward: _YES!_ Next to hers was Alice's neat print: _Yes__._

She sighed and scrunched it up. Fine. Turning to James, she said softly so as not to get caught, "Potter. I know I haven't been that nice to you lately, but _honestly_-"

Kate jabbed her as she heard the change in tone. _All right, all right._

"What I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry…I really am. I know you fancy me, and I get why you'd be upset about Bryce and – would you just look at me?" He had not turned around at all; he had not even paused in his note-taking to hear her out.

"Potter," she said, grabbing his arm.

He jumped, startled, and finally looked at her.

"Did you hear what I said? I said sorry. I've been a right cow, I know. And I know you mean the best with those pranks of yours. But you know you've really got to stop doing that; I like it better when we're talking normally, you know?"

The whole time he was just staring at her. Just staring at her with those hazel eyes, his brow furrowed. He nodded. That was it: he _nodded_, then turned back to face the front.

Lily was so offended, she could not help herself. "Potter! You – you – I'm trying to make it better, here! And you're completely ignoring-"

"Lily Evans!"

Lily looked to the front to see Professor McGonagall glaring at her. "What's gotten into you? If you do not wish to be here, no one is forcing you to stay."

"Sorry, Professor," she mumbled.

Lily did not utter a peep for the rest of the lesson. As soon as McGonagall dismissed the class, setting another hundred foot essay, she threw her belongings into her bag and was the first one out the door.

xxxxxxxxxx

"What are you doing, Wormtail? You're doing it all wrong! Here, move over," said Sirius.

"_What_?"

"MOVE OVER."

The Marauders were in the Room of Requirement, putting the final touches to their masterpiece to be used in the Halloween prank. This time, it had taken on the form of a fairly large room, with cushioned walls. Walls which were blasted with soot from their test runs this morning. Indeed, as Peter had said, they had devised something 'with a bang'. A very loud bang. Perhaps it was a bit _too _loud, they thought. It had deafened the four of them this morning, and they had just been to their morning classes with ringing ears and blank smiles at everyone who tried to talk to them.

Sirius nudged Peter to the side before he could get his wand out.

"Prongs, come help me with this!"

James, who had been inspecting the soot on the walls of the room, did not hear him. Sirius turned around to see him wipe some off with his finger and taste it. He grimaced.

"PRONGS!"

James turned, and went to help Sirius. "You know, I think we should change the colour of the residue. How about a nice green, since the gits love their House so much?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU JUST SAID," yelled Sirius.

"WHAT - ABOUT - IF - WE - CHANGE - THE - COLOUR - AND-" James stopped. "Never mind."

He pulled out his wand and did it himself. Sirius gave him the thumbs up. Remus, who had been standing furthest from the blast that morning, laughed at this exchange.

A few more minutes of tweaking and testing, and they were done. They stood back, feeling mighty proud of themselves. This would be their best Halloween prank to date.

James hoped Lily wouldn't mind too much. Speaking of... she had seemed a bit agitated this morning in Transfiguration. After the encounter in the library in which she had seemed quite peeved, he was surprised when she started talking to him. Not that he could tell what she was saying. Her expression had seemed pained; her emerald green eyes - those eyes that made his knees weak and his heart skip a beat every time she looked at him, albeit with a scowl - were intense. He had frowned, putting on his Serious Face, just in case it was something important so she wouldn't get angry with him, and had nodded at her soundless mouthing.

"Well, my fellow Marauders," said Sirius, draping his arms around Remus and Peter and regarding their creation. "I think our work here is done!"

"WHAT?" yelled Peter.


	7. Fouls, Banter, and Celebrations

**Thank you to Haruhi-chan131, the iz, and PurifiedDrinkingWater for the reviews!**

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**Chapter 7**

It was the first game of the Quidditch season, and almost the entire school had gathered to watch what was anticipated to be an intense match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

The weather was obviously not feeling the same amount of cheer as the spectators; a chilly wind blew throughout the stands, and dark storm clouds brewed above the crowd, threatening a mighty downpour at any second.

Lily did not particularly care who won. However, being Head Girl meant she was required to show school spirit, whether she was feeling school spirit-y or not. Currently she was squashed between Kate and Alice alongside other Gryffindor supporters with the game about to start. The striped red Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck was her weak attempt at showing support for her House.

The crowd cheered as the players entered the pitch and mounted their brooms. James and Bryce, as captains of their respective teams, met in the middle and shook hands before mounting their own brooms. Lily let go of the breath she was holding - she thought James had been about to do something stupid.

The game officially started as the whistle sounded. Lily could not actually make sense of what was happening, being as illiterate to the subtle nuances of Quidditch as the giant squid. All that was apparent to her was that it involved a lot of flying around, grappling with the Quaffle, the Seeker (Lily was also secretly cheering for Bryce, and feeling like a traitor) seeking, and the Beaters swinging their clubs at everything and everyone.

By the end of the first half, the two teams were neck and neck. According to the commentator, James had just scored a magnificent goal which meant Gryffindor was leading by a small margin.

Suddenly, Bryce sped off to the left. Lily could not see the Snitch, but he obviously had a clear view as he was leaning forward on his broom, urging it on. The Gryffindor Seeker was tailing behind him, but it looked as if Bryce was going to be the first to reach it.

Then something happened that had never occurred in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch. The large red Quaffle flew out of nowhere and hit Bryce on the side of his face. He had been reaching for the Snitch, steadying himself with only a hand as he perched precariously on his broom and negotiated a tight corner. The interference knocked him off balance, and Lily and the rest of the crowd gasped as he was bowled over. The Gryffindor Seeker caught the Snitch almost at the exact moment he fell - or was it a split second after?. Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

All the players descended and surrounded Bryce. He had landed on his arm and was now clutching it in pain. James, who had obviously been the one who had thrown the Quaffle (Lily _knew _he would do something stupid), was arguing with Madam Hooch. Yells of, "Foul!" came from the Ravenclaw crowd.

"Idiot," Lily muttered as she watched him.

She glanced back to Bryce, who was now being helped up and lead off the pitch. _Potter, you prat._

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The common room was decked out in red and gold. Someone had managed to get hold of a case of butterbeer, and everyone had a bottle clutched in their hands as they celebrated.

Sirius made his way over to James and clapped him on the back. "Mate, that was _brilliant_. Bit risky, but completely genius."

"I didn't do it on purpose," said James for the millionth time.

And it was true. He had explained, over and over again to Madam Hooch, that he had not intended to hit Bryce, however much he had wanted to. He had not revealed that last bit, of course. What he _had_ been intending to do was to pass it to Frank, who was open in the corner. Bryce had come speeding into the way of the Quaffle as James threw it. So really, Bryce had been the one to hit the Quaffle, not the other way around. Madam Hooch had finally decided to declare Gryffindor the winner, much to the outrage of Ravenclaw.

James had not seen Lily after the game, nor had she shown up to celebrate. Her friend, Kate, was here, seated in the corner with Sirius. James smirked.

"Hey, Kate!" he called over to her. "Where's Lily?"

"In the Hospital Wing!" She yelled back. "With Bryce!"

_Bryce_. James gritted his teeth. What was so great about him, anyway? He honestly had no idea what Lily saw in him. Sure, he was decent looking, and a Quidditch Captain.

But wasn't _he_, James Potter, all that as well?

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Kate took a swig of butterbeer and savoured the sweet taste before swallowing and relishing the warmth that spread through her chest. She was seated near the window by herself, Alice having abandoned her for bed. Kate's love for butterbeer had required her to have an obligatory drink before heading up to the dorms herself.

She watched the merriment of students near the fire and the centre of the room, from giggling first years to the drunk-on-happiness Quidditch team. Everyone knew Ravenclaw was one of the strongest teams in the school. Today's win had given them an almost guaranteed first placing and holders of the Quidditch Cup for the fourth year running.

Kate spotted Garrick amongst the revellers, talking animatedly to a pretty blonde sixth year, Emma Watts, standing shockingly close to her so that their faces were almost touching. She could see Emma giggling and batting her eyes up at him. Kate glared at him and took another sip of butterbeer. _Ohh, if you do _anything _you prick, I have the perfect hex for you..._

"Jeez King, who put that stick up your arse today?" said Black's deep voice next to her.

Kate looked up to see him regarding her with a cautious expression. Her glare must have been menacing, she thought with glee.

"None of your business, Black."

Sirius sat down, despite no invitation from her part. She rolled her eyes.

"All on your lonesome, huh? See, this is why one should not date outside one's House."

Kate snorted. "This coming from Sirius Black, man-whore of Hogwarts?"

Sirius pretended to look highly offended. "Man-whore? Well what about Miss Slag of the Year, Kate King?" he retorted.

_Slag, tart, harlot_ - these were all names she had heard before. She was fully aware of her reputation amongst her peers, and up until last year she had honestly not minded one bit. In fact, she enjoyed the male attention it brought her. Being considered the female counterpart to the infamous Sirius Black was quite a flattery, especially for an ugly duckling such as herself.

Lily had once told her the Muggle legend of the ugly duckling (or was it chicken?) and Kate found her life mirroring the story. She had been a skinny first year much too tall for her age with horribly crooked teeth and too-pale skin. Other students had tormented her for her clumsy ways and her awkward mess of long limbs and knobbly knees. Sirius Black had never been one of them, though. As the Kings and the Blacks travelled in the same circles, their children got to know each other in settings outside school. Kate found that outside Hogwarts, away from the eyes of his friends, Sirius lost the swagger and bravado he often put on, and many a time they had played games of gnomes and elves. She had never told him, but she had always harboured a crush on him and his shaggy hair and cavalier attitude, as even back then he had caused the little hearts of eleven-year-old girls racing.

As Kate had grown into her limbs, and her mother had one summer decided to place a painful teeth-straightening charm on her (she had cried for days), she noticed that the taunting stopped and the boys that once teased her started holding doors open for her. And finally - in the first Hogsmeade trip of her fifth year - Sirius Black had asked her to accompany him. Talking to him had always been easy; they could relate to and understand each other in ways their other friends could not, for their ostracism at home were very similar.

So now as the boy she had lost her virginity to one stormy night last year -the only boy she had ever slept with, contrary to popular opinion, and someone she still suspected she had feelings for judging by the way her heart skipped a beat - sat next to her and regarded her with those irresistible grey eyes, she thought of her current interest Dillon Finch. He was kind to her, he made her laugh, he was cute, and she found herself genuinely liking him. That was more than she could say about her other flings. She had to stay loyal to him. But Sirius Black made that really, really hard.

"You should not be seen talking to a slag such as I, then," said Kate. "It could harm your squeaky clean reputation."

_Why_ was she continuing their banter? She should be getting up and leaving. Where was Lily? Lily always knew just what to say to Sirius to shoo him away.

Sirius grinned at her (_good Merlin_) and said, "I think I'm willing to risk my reputation for a woman who knows how to have a good time."

_Ugh. _She could not imagine Dillon saying anything like that to her.

Just then, James saved her from having to reply. "Hey, Kate!" he yelled. "Where's Lily?"

"In the hospital wing!" she called back, standing up. "With Bryce!"

She downed the rest of the butterbeer and threw away the empty bottle, and turned to face Sirius.

"Goodnight, Black," she said.

"Going so soon?" he said, looking up at her with a look of exaggerated disappointment.

Kate forced herself to wave and turn her back on him. As she made her way towards the stairs, she felt elated that she had overcome the wiles of Sirius Black all on her own. For now.

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"Does this mean our date is off?" Lily asked Bryce as they walked out of the hospital wing. His arm had been easily mended with a flick of the wand by Madam Pomfrey.

He looked surprised. "No, of course not."

Lily smiled. "Good. Because I've been looking forward to it."

"So have I," he replied, smiling back. Those slightly drooped eyes of his were adorable.

"Sorry about Potter. He's a prat." He really, really, was.

"Why are _you _apologising?" Bryce said, rubbing his mended arm.

"Because..." He really got her on that one. Why _was _she apologising for James? "I guess I just feel responsible for him," she finally decided. "Honestly, he's as immature as a first-year."

Bryce laughed. "Well don't. It's not like you're his mother...or his girlfriend."

"Very true," she said. "It's just that... I've been around him for so long, you know? Don't even get me started on how he thinks he's king of the bloody world. I'm surprised he can get off the ground with that fat head of his."

"Er...right," said Bryce. "Listen, I have to go and grieve with my team. I'll see you on Saturday, yeah?"

"Okay," she said, a little surprised they were parting so early. She did not want to go back to the common room. _He_ would be there. "Bye."

They went their separate ways at the marble staircase. As Lily headed up to the Gryffindor tower, an intense feeling of dread welled in her. She really did not want to see James because she knew she would just explode at him. But if she did not get back soon, she would be caught by Filch for being out of bed after hours, and there was no point trying to make up excuses of being on patrol as Filch had all the timetables.

Lily forced herself to say the password ("Cloverdilly", no longer a high-security sentence) and entered the Gryffindor common room.

It was no surprise to find everyone cheering and dancing around. And no surprise as to who had provided the butterbeer. Where _did _Sirius get it from, anyway?

Lily, without bothering to seek out anyone she knew, headed straight for the stairs. The soft bed in her room was calling to her, and she longed to sleep off the headache she had suddenly acquired.

"Evans!"

She froze as she heard his voice. Glancing back, she saw him struggling to reach her through the throng of people. She turned back and continued on her way.

"Evans! Wait!"

Just a little more, and she would be at the stairs.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Save it, Potter," she said, turning to face him. "I don't want to hear your excuses. What you did was immature and dangerous. Bryce could have been seriously hurt! All you care about is Quidditch."

"That's not true," he said quietly. Her heart caught in her throat as his hazel gaze bored into her.

Lily did not want to hear what he would say next, because deep down, she knew what he was thinking. And she wasn't about to stick around to hear him say it aloud. She turned and climbed up the stairs to the sanctuary of the girls dormitories.

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**So I know this is sort of a filler chapter, but I promise next one will be up in a few days! With the Hogsmeade trip and the Halloween prank **

**Please review :)**


	8. Dates, Bats, and Pranks

**Thank you kelseyPJHP1997, The-Delectable-May-Reach, the iz, Lina324, analiseidk, Crystal, Helli, Haruhi-chan131, and PurifiedDrinkingWater for taking the time to review. **

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**Chapter 9**

The morning of the Hogsmeade trip was a stormy one. Those that knew how had charmed invisible shields to float above their heads so that the rain sluiced off it. Others made do with cloaks and hoods.

The Marauders were currently in Zonko's Joke Shop. James was buying himself the standard dung bombs and other knick knacks. He stuffed the goods into his pockets, his money bag now considerably lighter. Sirius was admiring the new stock, while Remus and Peter were negotiating their way through the throng of students crowding the shop. Peter was failing miserably; every time he moved, the person closest to him emitted an "_ow_!".

After some more browsing, their stomachs led them to the Three Broomsticks. They trooped down to the pub and entered. The warmth inside was sticky and humid one thanks to the downpour, and they shrugged off their cloaks.

James was just about to lead them towards their usual seat in the corner when Remus stopped him.

"Er...Prongs? Maybe we should take a seat over there." Remus indicated the empty seats near the far wall at the other end of the pub.

"What? Why?" James said as he continued towards their usual seats, completely ignoring Remus' suggestion. Then he saw why.

Behind the large group of students near the far window seat, out of sight of where James had been standing before, were Lily and Bryce. They clutched bottles of butterbeer as they lent towards each other, lost in conversation. James tightened his jaw.

For a second it looked as though he was going to walk away, but instead he determinedly kept going and seated himself at the only other spare table, which happened to be directly opposite them. He looked over at Remus, Sirius and Peter and waved them over.

Sirius slid into the seat next to James. "Tough luck, mate."

James didn't answer, nor did he look at him. Then he took a deep breath. "Yeah, well, I'm fine with it."

He said it a little too breezily. The others stared back at him.

"What? I _am _fine. I mean, it's not like they're officially going out or anything."

The second he said that, Lily's laughter carried over to them. James visibly flinched at the sound. He forced himself not to look over at the pair.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lily saw him come in and sit down at the table next to them. She knew they should have gone to that stupid café with the pink hearts.

She pretended not to notice him and concentrated on what Bryce was saying, leaning towards him to hear him above all the noise in the pub. He told a joke and she laughed, trying not to wince at the sound; it sounded forced even to her. She honestly did not know how James did it. He always managed to ruin a good time, sometimes by just being there.

Lily found herself wanting to leave, and Bryce must have noticed her sudden agitation because he was the first to suggest that they visit some shops. She readily agreed. In the back of her head a little voice was telling her how silly she was being. It was just James; what did he have to be so skittish about? He wasn't even doing anything; heck, was not even _looking _at her!

The rain outside seemed to have lessened; now it was just a light spitting. Before Lily could do it herself, Bryce had whipped out his wand and charmed an invisible shield over their heads.

Lily smiled ruefully up at him. "Thanks."

Bryce smiled back at her, but it seemed hesitant - not his usual carefree, uninhibited grin. "You all right?" he asked.

Lily crinkled her nose. "It was getting stuffy in there," she said, surprising herself on how easily the lie came.

She didn't know whether Bryce believed her or not, but she took his shrug as acceptance of her excuse. They walked slowly along the main road of Hogsmeade, briefly glancing in the windows of shops as they passed.

"So what's your favourite sweet?" Bryce asked as they passed Honeydukes, which looked like it was crowded with students.

"Fizzing Whizzbees," Lily said. "Mostly because they make you float."

"You do know they use dried Billywig stings in there, right?"

"_What_?"

Bryce chuckled at her horrified face. "How else would they make you float? They don't spell them, that's for sure."

Lily felt a little bit sick. She had eaten at least a dozen of them last semester, and suddenly she could feel hundreds of little Billywigs crawling around in her stomach.

"What's your favourite, then?" she asked.

"Pink Coconut Ice," Bryce immediately replied.

Lily snorted, and giggled at his faux-offended look.

"You think boys aren't allowed to like Pink Coconut Ice?"

"I'd have thought you too manly for them."

"Nonsense. No one is too manly for Pink Coconut Ice," said Bryce, that adorable grin back on his face.

Lily smiled back at him, and felt slightly guilty again over her small lie. So what, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right? And it's not like it _meant_ anything, honestly; she couldn't help it if James Potter was the most annoying prat in the universe.

They continued on aimlessly down the road, chatting about their favourite foods, their pet hates (his was girls who wore too much makeup, hers was people who bullied others for no good reason), and how stressful classes were getting. Soon they had passed the wooden buildings of Hogsmeade, and they were wandering down a lane that passed the Shrieking Shack, rain still pattering on the cobblestones around their magical shelter. She jumped in surprise when she felt Bryce's hand clasp her own. They were warm, and rough from hours of Quidditch practice. Lily looked up and smiled up at him.

Neither one of them said anything, but continued hand in hand until they eventually came to a standstill at the base of the hill leading up to the Shrieking Shack. There was no one around, and they both found themselves gazing up at the dilapidated building. The peeling, off-white paint and boarded-up windows upheld its facade of being the most haunted house in Britain. It used to give Lily the chills every time she saw it on Hogsmeade outings, until Remus had told her what it was really for.

"Have you ever been up there?" Bryce asked.

"No," said Lily softly. Whenever she saw it she was overwhelmed with a sadness for her friend that she knew he would resent.

"I wonder what kind of monster lives there," he said as he faced the Shack.

Lily bit back her initial response - _he's not a monster. _Instead she said, "I don't know. A lonely one, I bet. I heard even the Hogwarts ghosts' avoid the place."

Bryce did not respond. They stood in silence for a moment. They were still holding hands, and Lily was uncomfortably aware that hers was starting to sweat - or it could've been his. Then he turned away from the hill to face her.

"I had fun today," Bryce said.

"Me too," said Lily.

He stepped closer towards her, his fingers winding tighter around hers. Her pulse was racing, and beat faster as he bent down. His face was right there, his lips only a few centimeters from hers. She shut her eyes and closed the distance between them. His lips were surprisingly soft as they pressed against her own. She could feel his hand on her waist as she cupped his face and kissed him.

Familiar voices carried down to them on the wind, and Lily flinched. Bryce pulled away, and they both turned in time to see James and his friends striding out from the crop of trees next to the path leading to the Shrieking Shack. Remus, Peter and Sirius were behind him, looking uncomfortable. It looked like they had been in animated conversation before they had spotted Lily and Bryce engaged in some rather intimate activities. Everyone stood still for a second.

Lily expected James to turn around and walk away, but instead he continued strolling down the path towards them. _Oh, no._

The other three followed; Remus seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. James, who was passing them now, did not look like he was intending to stop. She was about to let out the breath she had been holding when he grinned at Bryce (it was not his lopsided one; it looked rather forced), gave him a hearty clap on the back and said, "Nice score, Wilkinson." He completely ignored her.

Bryce's face was not pretty as James said that. He started towards him, but Lily grabbed his arm and shook her head. They both watched as James and the others walked down the path to wherever they were headed - the Hogs Head, most likely.

Bryce let out a string of colourful names directed at James. Lily heartily agreed. She could feel her face flush with the indignity of it. How _dare_ he speak to her like that! Or, more accurately, completely ignore her and speak to Bryce about her as if she were a 'conquest' of his.

That put a sour mood to the end of a wonderful afternoon. Lily and Bryce parted ways (without continuing their kiss, regrettably) and she left to go to the library - the one place she was sure James would not be. She was _not_ looking forward to the Halloween feast tonight.

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The Great Hall that night was decorated as it always was on Halloween; a thousand live bats fluttered around the high ceiling, and grinning pumpkins lit the tables set with gold plates in eerie candlelight. Another thousand bats swooped low over the heads of students as they all filed in.

Lily refrained from shrieking as a bat flew directly towards her, almost getting tangled in her hair. _I hate Halloween._

Lily, Kate, Alice and Beatrice, along with Frank and Garrick, found a row of empty seats at the Gryffindor table. Lily was glad James was not here; she had seen him on the way in, sitting on the far side furthest from the teachers table. A prudent choice - they were going to be watched very carefully during the night by several hawk-eyed Professors. They all knew who was responsible for the pranks. One feasible clue as to who was to blame, and they would pounce. Thankfully, Dumbledore was not at the teacher's table. But even if he were, Lily did not think even a Head Boy's badge would stop James from whatever was about to happen.

Lily tried to squash down the blaze of anger and indignity that flared up as she thought of James. How could one person do this to her? She was a nice girl; she tried to treat everyone fairly, the way she would want to be treated herself. But when it came to James all that went out the window, drowned in the Black Lake, and up the arse of the bloody Giant Squid.

"Lily!"

Lily jumped, knocked from her unhealthy train of thought by Kate who had yelled into her ear. "Yes?"

"Nothing. You just looked like you were about to commit murder."

"Just thinking of a certain someone," she said in a fake-cheerful voice.

"Well don't," said Kate. "You're scaring Frank."

"Oh?"

Indeed, Frank - who was seated opposite her - was regarding her with an anxious expression. "It's all right, Frank," she reassured him. "I'm fine. _Really_," she added when he did not look too convinced at her beaming smile.

The gold plates filled with food, and Lily heartily dug in. She was not really in the talking mood; she half-listened to the conversation while occupied with a particularly large jacket potato. All throughout the meal she was tense, dreading a shower of some nasty substance or other, or a flash of light. But the main course finished, and the tables cleared for the break before the dessert full of candy and toffee apples and sweet cherry eyeballs. The suspense was killing her. She tried to sneak a peek at the four pranksters, but could not see past all the people separating them without making it look obvious. Surely, this could not be it?

Dessert finally arrived. A huge golden dish of what looked like chocolate mousse looked particularly appetising. It was just when Lily was reaching for it with her spoon when all hell broke loose.

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_BANG_

Everyone screamed. The sound had come from the Slytherin table; the whole school turned towards the far side, students eagerly-

_BANG_

Another bowl of mousse on the Slytherin table blew up, sending a spray of fluffy dessert five feet into the air and landing with great splatters on the students sitting around it. They screeched and scrambled out of their seats, tripping over one another in the scurry. A green soot of some kind poofed up from the dish, misting their faces in the exact shade of their House. The whole Hall was yelling excitedly, some students standing on the tables, feet in the desserts to get a better view.

_BANG. _BANG_-BANG-_BANG_-BANG._

Suddenly, before the rest of Slytherin thought that their mousse's might be spiked, too, the dishes down the centre of the table all exploded their contents one after the other with precise timing, and green dust was all around them in a great cloud. All the blasts seemed to echo a different note around the noisy Hall - the combination of which was playing the first notes of the Hogwarts School song.

_BANG-BANG, _BANG, BANG_, BANG-BANG_

While the Slytherins were all clamouring to get away, faces all a brilliant emerald and splotched with cream, the rest of the students were shrieking with laughter. Some were even singing along.

And as suddenly as it had started, the show was over; most of the dishes on the Slytherin table had been exploded, and it seemed that only a few had missed out in a face-full of dessert. Someone on the far side started clapping, and soon the whole Hall was cheering. The teachers on the stage were desperately trying to regain order; Professor McGonagall cracked several firecrackers at the end of her wand, but after the series of explosions, this only served to add to the chaos and increase the magnitude of the applause. All four of the Marauders were grinning and clapping along with the rest of the student population, not looking conspicuous at all. This really was their best Halloween prank to date.


	9. Snivellus and Secrets

**I'm back! SORRY for the delay, whirlwind of stuff happened and didn't get round to editing and uploading until now. Hope there are some of you readers and reviewers still interested in this story, because I promise there's still lots more to come! **

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**Chapter 9**

The start of November was a good one for Gryffindor. They had won another Quidditch match, this time against Hufflepuff by quite a large margin. The only game left was with Slytherin, and everyone knew they were all dirty tricks and no talent.

The Slytherins themselves had generally kept a low profile after the spectacle at the Halloween feast, being unusually subdued even to the 'dirty' Muggle-borns. This was mostly due to the fact that the green soot that had shot out of the explosive chocolate mousse had been found to be quite permanent - no amount of scrubbing or cleaning spells seemed to be able to remove it. And so for a whole week after the infamous prank, almost all students of Slytherin House endured constant giggling and pointing from their peers at the splotchy stains that made their faces seem like a cow print of brilliant emerald green spots.

In this first week of November, Lily was off to Potions, and dreading it. She had not spoken to James for a while now (this thing about the Heads communicating really was not working out how Dumbledore had planned) and she was not planning to any time soon, apart from the necessary grunts of "Pass me the pestle".

She was just turning the last corridor of the dungeons before the door to Potions when she bumped into the one person she did not wish to see more than James. Severus Snape. He swore as the two collided, Severus dropping his books and causing a flurry of parchment that scattered the stone floor. Lily abruptly stopped her mumbled apology when she realised who it was.

Severus did not seem to know what to say either, he merely watched her with a funny pained expression, neither of them immediately moving to pick up his belongings. She could not help noticing with a bit of amusement that the green splotchy marks on his face had not completely faded, and had paled to puke-green islands across his nose and left cheek. The pair of them stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Lily asked, "Where are you going? We have Potions."

Severus finally seemed to come to himself, and opened his mouth to reply when the second person Lily really did not want to see rounded the corridor she had just come from and said in a cheery voice, "Good morning, Snivellus. Evans."

Severus merely shot James a look of loathing before bending down to gather his dropped things. Lily, despite herself, felt bad for him and promptly bent down to help. She grabbed a piece of scrunched parchment when Severus snarled, "I don't need your help."

Lily immediately dropped it like a hot potato. His remark brought back to her his words from that scene by the lake in fifth year, where he had ended a similar sentence with _Mudblood_. "Fine," she said coolly, and stood up and brushed off her robe. She ignored James' snark directed at Severus and continued on the way to Potions. James followed her, but not before stepping through Severus' pile of paper.

As the pair sat down in Potions he said, "You're not still trying to talk to that creep, are you?"

"No," said Lily. "I no longer want anything to do with Snivellus -" James smirked at her use of the nickname "-but that's really none of your business, Potter."

"Lily," he said in a tone of such earnestness that Lily looked up from finding the right page in _Advanced Potion Making_. "I'm sorry about what I said to Wilkinson. I just... I don't know. I'm an idiot, I know. Sometimes I don't know why I do things like that. Forgive me?"

Lily was taken aback, but she tried not to let it show. James had done and said many things to her in the past, and hardly ever did he apologise or admit his own foolishness with such sincerity. But although the anger and indignity she had felt at his comment on the Hogsmeade trip had ebbed back to the usual dull annoyance she experienced whenever she saw him, that did not mean his behaviour was that easily excusable.

"You were an arse," she said bluntly, looking away from him and flipping through the textbook again.

He was silent, and Lily resisted the urge to look back up at him.

"Lily," he began again. "I know I don't deserve it, but... Please. I need you to forgive me."

"And why should I?" she snapped, a blaze of annoyance striking her from out of nowhere. She could feel her cheeks heating up. _Merlin, how does he do this?_

"Because... I care what you think of me."

"Oh?" she said, and this time she did look at him, and he was wearing that damned sincere expression of his, the one where the green flecks in his hazel eyes seemed extra bright, and his brow was furrowed, and (Lily couldn't help it) he looked more handsome. _Get a hold of yourself, Evans. _"But you're James Potter," she continued, keeping her voice cool and nonchalant. "You don't care what people think of you."

One corner of his mouth pulled up in a sort of grin. "You're just about the only person I care about."

For the first time, Lily did not have a snappy comeback to James Potter. "All right," was all she managed to say. "But don't be such a callous prick next time."

Then James gave her his trademark lopsided smile and for the rest of the lesson did not once turn to flirt with Beatrice, much to Beatrice's disappointment. In fact, in the brewing of the Bloomsberry Elixir they were making, James proved himself to be an exceptionally talented Potions student.

"How do you do it?" Lily asked him incredulously at the end of the lesson as they walked out.

"Do what, Lily-flo...?" he started, but abruptly cut himself off when Lily scowled at him.

"Get good grades in everything you do without once opening your textbook!" she exclaimed. This point had frustrated her to no end over the years. James Potter was infuriatingly smart when it came to exams, and Lily supposed, with a hint of alarm, that he would be even smarter than her if he bothered to do some proper study.

James shrugged and with a smug smile said, "Guess its just my good looks and charm that get me through it." He ruffled his hair as he said it, and Lily wanted to smack it away.

"Arrogant bastard," she muttered, and James laughed.

Behind and unknown to her, Kate and Alice were slowly walking behind the pair and observing this interaction with gleeful giggles and exchanges of raised brows.

xxxxxxxxxx

"I love you," said Dillon Finch.

Kate abruptly sat up from his lap where she had been sprawled, looking up at the stars above the Astronomy Tower where the pair had snuck off to yet again.

Kate's heart was racing, and she looked at his face full of warmth and whole-hearted sincerity and smiled. No boy had ever said that to her before. Not even Sirius, whom she had many memorable moments with in the broom cupboard on the fifth floor.

"I love you, too," said Kate. She had never said that to a boy before. She expected some brilliant display of fireworks or bells ringing merrily or a flight of doves into the night, but none of these things happened. It was just her and Dillon, a witch and a wizard barely of age, canoodling on a roof top of their school. Kate was not sure if she meant it. But what else could love be? This was it, right? This warm feeling of comfort and safety she felt every time she saw his tanned face and floppy straw-coloured hair, and as he embraced her in his strong Quidditch-toned arms. So why did stupid Sirius Black and his stupid shaggy hair and his stupidly irresistible stormy grey eyes pop into her head?

Dillon smiled back, a look of such heart-wrenching joy Kate almost cried. She leaned forward to engage him in a passionate kiss so that he would not see her face, and to keep herself distracted from the boy who was always frustratingly unaware that he ruled her heart.

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Lily was sitting alone by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Kate being off somewhere with Dillon and Alice being off somewhere with Garrick. She could have been meeting up with Bryce, as she had done the night before (and continued the kiss that had been rudely interrupted by James), but sometimes she enjoyed these nights alone. It was peaceful.

"Lily?"

Lily turned to see Remus standing next to the couch she was lounging on, and sat up. "Hi, Remus."

"Mind if I sit?"

"Sure."

His manner seemed quite subdued - his tone was usually more merry when they talked.

"You look awful," joked Lily, noticing the deep bags under his eyes and the greyish pallor of his skin.

"My time of the month," he said with a smile.

Lily gave a small laugh, and said, "Long time no talk, Remus. Honestly, you should have been Head Boy."

Remus waved his hand at her. "No, no, I could never have handled it. Too tired most of the time. What with visiting my sick mother and all... Besides, I think James rather enjoys being Head Boy. Especially given who the Head Girl is," he teased.

"Thank you," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "As if I needed to be reminded."

They both watched the flames in the fireplace crackling and licking at the logs of wood, a picture perfect scene of two old friends sitting in comfortable silence.

"Lily, I need your advice on something..." said Remus.

Lily tried not to look too worried as he said this. The last time he had started off a sentence like that he had asked her whether or not he should go out with a girl named Elise, to which she had replied, Yes! Go for it! What resulted was a two month disaster that had ended when she had broken off the relationship after Remus had abandoned her on her birthday due to his 'sick mother'.

"Yes...?" she said apprehensively.

"Oh don't worry," Remus said quickly. "This isn't another Elise." His voice was filled with amusement as he said it. Elise had turned out to be an obsessive-compulsive, slightly psychotic girlfriend anyway, and he would have ended it himself had she not done a favour for them both.

"Go on," said Lily.

"Well... I met this girl Sarah during the summer holidays," started Remus. Lily groaned inwardly. Another girl issue. _How is this not the same thing, Remus! _But she patiently heard him out nonetheless.

Sarah, it turned out, was a little french minx attending Beauxbatons that Remus was quite smitten with, and she with him, if their letters were anything to go by. They had met last summer when she was on holiday in England, and the pair had been writing ever since.

"What I wanted to ask was... Before it gets any more serious... Do you think I should tell her? About my er... condition?"

"I honestly don't know, Remus," Lily replied after a pause. "That's really up to you... I don't want to tell you to do anything that might ruin it. What do you think?"

Remus shrugged. "I've asked James and Sirius, they reckon I should keep my mouth shut -" _of course they do_, thought Lily. "-But I don't think I should keep her in the dark any longer. I mean, it's unfair on her... She needs to know what she's signing up for," he said with a forced grin.

Lily frowned at that, and wanted to argue back to his obvious doubt in his self-worth, but thought better of it. "How serious are you two?"

"Pretty serious," he replied. "She told me she loved me in her last letter. That's why I started thinking... I honestly don't know what to do, Lily. I just wanted a girl's perspective on it. Sirius has a lot of experience, sure, but this is something I don't think he has a clue what he's talking about."

"Is that how you feel about her? _Love_?"

Remus grinned sheepishly, and she had never felt happier for him.

"Oh, what the heck," said Lily. "Go for it. If she loves you the way she says she does, she'll accept you for who you are. I mean, take me for example, I'm still friends with you after you told me, aren't I? Because I got to know _you_, Remus."

"You're right," said Remus, nodding. "I'm pretty sure she'll understand. She's great, you know. I wish you two got to meet, I think you'd really like her."

Lily smiled. "I'm sure I would."

Remus stood up, his excitement at finally having reached a decision showing. "I think I'll write to her now. Thanks, Lily. You're a good friend."

"Glad I could help," said Lily, and watched with amusement as he left the common room in what could only be described as a bounce in his step, to tell his girlfriend at Beauxbatons that her boyfriend was a werewolf.


	10. Headlines and More Quidditch

**Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! This is a slightly filler-ish chapter, I apologise, next one will be up within the week though so don't hate me too much!**

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**Chapter 10**

"Will someone please _shut her up_!"

Kate exclaimed this as she clasped her hands to her ears. It was the end of a long day and the teachers had shown no mercy. Kate, Alice, Beatrice and Lily were lounging on their four-poster beds in the dorms. Kate was currently trying to stuff her pillow in her ears, and Alice, who rarely got angry, was frowning in annoyance. Weepy Wendy – as everyone called her – was, surprise surprise, weeping rather loudly in the room next to them.

"Honestly, she cries over everything!" Kate said into her pillow. "Do you remember last year? The time she made that big fuss when her toad went missing? She kept everyone awake for a week!"

They all agreed. At least, Alice and Lily did. Beatrice, who would usually jump at the chance to snark about someone, was oddly silent. She was absentmindedly brushing her blonde locks.

"I wonder what it is this time. She left her jami's at home?"

Lily laughed.

Beatrice halted her grooming. "No," she said so softly Lily almost did not hear.

Kate lifted the pillow from her face. "Then what is it?"

"Her parents."

Kate groaned. "Don't tell me she's homesick. You'd think that after five years she'd be used to it."

"Her parents are dead."

The room fell silent. A shiver went down Lily's spine.

"What?" Kate's expression was indiscernible. It was a mixture of horror, shock, and guilt.

Beatrice put her brush down. "It was that Dark wizard."

"Voldemort," Lily whispered.

"Shhh, don't!" yelped Beatrice, so suddenly that Lily jumped. "Don't say his name! It's bad luck."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Lily said quietly, quoting Dumbledore from their first meeting.

Beatrice ignored that little gem of wisdom. "I heard they took her out of class today and told her. Right in the middle of the day. How _awful_ would that be..."

Lily had been worried about Voldemort, for sure. But up until now he had been a dark spectre preying on the Important Wizards of the Ministry. Weepy Wendy's parents - a regular witch and wizard from Bristol, so Beatrice informed them - had been killed. It hit too close to home.

Kate sank into her bed. "Well don't I feel bad now," she said softly. "Poor Wendy."

Alice's expression was sombre, and she looked slightly pale. Kate had ceased her complaining and now lay staring blankly at the canopy above. Beatrice went back to her brushing. Lily just sat there, thankful for the first time that her parents were Muggles. They at least had more of a chance of not drawing the eye of Voldemort.

The revelation of the cause of Weeping Wendy's weeping signified the end of that night's conversation. After the lights went out Lily wriggled under the sheets and tried to get to sleep, without success. The ringing silence in the room suggested that no one else could either.

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Breakfast that morning was awkward. Lily was sitting with Kate and Alice, and she knew they were thinking about the same thing; would their parents be next? By now, everyone had heard what had happened to Weepy Wendy. It turned out that it was not only Wendy who had been taken out of class the other day to be told tragic news; there were a small number of students sitting puffy-eyed and silent at breakfast.

Even more students had been taken out of school by worried parents. Stupid, on their part. Although, Lily noted, Dumbledore was hardly present these days. Sometimes his chair at the teachers table was empty for days. Everyone grew worried whenever this happened, but they were reassured when he returned. Today was his first appearance at the Heads table for the first time this week. He looked a bit haggard, his face sallow, and his beard seemed to be looking much shabbier.

As usual, James was oblivious to everything but himself. He looked to be wildly explaining something to his friends, waving his hands about.

The morning post came with the stream of owls overhead. The _Daily Prophet_ landed in Lily's bowl of cereal.

"Lovely," she said as she shook out the milk.

She dried it with a charm and read the front page that exclaimed, _YOU KNOW WHO; MERCHANT OF DEATH_. The article went on to list the dead, and everyone who was missing. Certain names stood out to Lily as she read - Garland (Wendy's parents), Foster, Cobb. At the end of the article it stated that Aurors had some suspects related to the killings, and that they were Death Eaters - minions of the 'Dark Lord'.

"Hey, isn't there a Nott in our year?" asked Alice, referring to one of the suspected Death Eaters.

"Yeah. And there's also a Carrow," said Kate. "I know that creep, he used to throw gnomes at me on our play dates. And they're both in Slytherin. No surprises there."

For the first time at breakfast, the Great Hall was hushed. People spoke in murmurs, and the rest were inspecting their copies of the _Prophet. _Lily looked over to James again, and saw him frowning as he read the front page of the paper. Lily suddenly realised what she was doing - looking over at James every five seconds - and silently admonished herself. She tried to concentrate on her cereal for the rest of breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxx

The day of the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor had finally arrived. After this morning's headlines the mood of the spectators surrounding the quidditch pitch was subdued. The stands were not as packed as they normally would have been for a final match, either.

In the locker room James roughly ran a hand through his hair. Gryffindor was two players down, both having come down with a mysterious, greenish rash that covered them head to toe and swollen eyes that obscured most of their vision. Work of those dirty Slytherins, no doubt. He had had to make do with two emergency replacements; a bumbling seventh year, Cecil Collins who had be their new Chaser, and a nervous sixth-year, Jenny Pilkins, that would take over position as Keeper.

"Right, team," said James, in no mood himself for a pep talk. He had been tense ever since this morning at the news that Ralph and Gretchen Cobb had been killed by Death Eaters. They had been friends of his parents, and James remembered more than one occasion from his childhood of pleasant evenings spent in their home playing Gobstones with Ralph, or Gretchen ruffling his hair every time she greeted him. Carrow was the name he remembered from the article related to their deaths. There was also an Amycus Carrow on the Slytherin team they were about to play, and James was certain that they were related. From what he knew of Amycus Carrow's nature (from their occasional hostile back-and-forths in Potions) he could very well make a potential Death Eater.

Frank Longbottom, a fellow Chaser, looked concerned at his prolonged pause and strained expression, and conspicuously cleared his throat.

James glanced to him, nodded, and continued. "Just remember the strategy we practised, and it'll -"

"What strategy?" cut in Cecil Collins.

James grit his teeth, but said patiently, "As soon as the whistle blows, one beater to the North end, one South. Chasers in centre, but I'll be West so that when -"

James watched Cecil's eyes go dull at the first mention of directions, and felt a flare of impatience. "Ahh, what the hell. Let's just play, all right?" And with that he yanked his broom from off it's mount on the wall, ignoring his teammates stunned looks at his reckless abandon as he marched out of the locker room and onto the pitch.

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The match against Gryffindor and Slytherin in James Potter's last year as Gryffindor Captain was a shocker. A mess, students would say afterwards.

The atmosphere of the pitch was unusually quiet as the captains of each House - James Potter and Amycus Carrow - shook hands. The tension between them was almost palpable, the muscle's in each boys arm straining as they clasped with an intent to injure rather than carry out a formality.

Madam Hooch had come down with a terrible cold that day, and Professor Flitwick - the miniature Charms professor who was inspecting the whistle curiously - was the only teacher available to take over. As soon as he blew the whistle and the players rose to their positions, however, the stillness broke, and those in the stands were egging on their team of choice. They were students, after all, and this familiar act of seeing their peers rise to the pitch was all that was required to trigger a natural response, no matter the dark goings-on in the outside world.

Slytherin started off with the Quaffle, and they had negotiated it to within shooting distance of their goal when James Potter intercepted at that moment and passed it to Frank Longbottom, who flew with it before being descended upon by two Slytherin Chasers. He dropped the Quaffle to Cecil Collins who happened to be below him, seemingly by chance as he seemed oblivious to the commotion above him. The Quaffle bounced off his head and he flinched and reached his hands up by reflex, and actually caught it for a split second, before it was snatched away by one of the Slytherin Chasers.

James Potter had never exhibited such speed of flying, but it seemed to be reckless and not with any coherent purpose. He sped up and down the pitch, zooming between players and almost knocking some Slytherin players off their brooms. Gryffindor, normally a strong contender for the Quidditch Cup, seemed to be lacking in their synergy this day.

Slytherin were playing dirty yet again. Their Beaters swung their clubs at Bludgers but half the time they 'mistook' Gryffindor heads for the heavy black balls, causing the Gryffindor team to be constantly on their guard and dodge attacks. Professor Flitwick never once blew the whistle during these exchanges - he had been told by Madam Hooch, "Game ends when someone catches the Snitch. Now I'm going back to bed."

By the end of the first half Slytherin was most definitely in the lead. There was no way Gryffindor would catch up, even if they caught the Snitch. Most of the goals scored had been by Potter or Hamling, with Cecil Collins fumbling the Quaffle on the odd occasion he was in contact with it. Jenny Pilkins, a replacement Keeper, had so far blocked one of the eight goals scored by Slytherin, an event caused possibly by accident seeing as the Quaffle had been bounced out of the way by her elbow.

Just before the whistle blew to announce the end of the first half, a Slytherin Beater flying near Potter swung the bat in his direction, aiming a little too early for the Bludger whizzing towards them, so that his bat conveniently smashed Potter in the shoulder. Potter's broom spun wildly before it came careening to a stop as he was bowled over and skidded along the dirt floor of the pitch. Then Professor Flitwick blew the whistle.

Boo's and angry yells came from Gyrffindor stands as Potter pulled himself up. He could be seen arguing with Professor Flitwick while clutching his shoulder, and angrily shrugging off other students who tried to console him.

The second half started with James Potter holding his broom with one hand while his other arm hung limp. No sooner had the Quaffle been tossed up, however, that the Slytherin Seeker Amycus Carrow sped off after a golden glint. The Gryffindor Seeker was not far behind him. The cheers of Gryffindor supporters were rather subdued - if either Seeker caught the snitch now, the game would end and Slytherin would win thanks to their point advantage.

As the crowd cheered, several things happened at once. Collins, who realised he was in the path of the Seekers now zooming towards him, lurched out of the way into the path of a Beater on his own team taking a swing, so that it knocked him unconscious and his heavy body slid off his broom and crashed into a Slytherin Beater; the other Slytherin Beater who had yet again taken aim at Potter, this time with no excuse of a nearby Bludger, was hit in the back of the head with the Quaffle thrown by Longbottom with a yell, which bounced off; and Potter, who had turned around at Longbottom's voice, narrowly dodged the Beater's bat which instead hit the head of the oncoming Amycus Carrow. The Gryffindor Seeker caught the Snitch a moment later, and Professor Flitwick triumphantly blew the whistle.

And that was how Slytherin won the Quidditch Cup.


	11. Letters and Eavesdroppers

**Sorry for the wait, here's another chapter for ya'll. Enjoy!**

**(And thank you so much to all who reviewed the last one, any feedback for this one would also be much appreciated)**

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**Chapter 11**

"Lily, what's a _tee-vee_?"

Lily looked up from reading over her Charms essay at Kate, who was sprawled in front of the fire of the common room with an empty piece of parchment laid out, quill in hand and looking thoroughly confused.

"You've been taking Muggle Studies for _how_ long?"

Kate shrugged. "I always skipped the technology section. It's hard. But I think I need to know it this year to pass."

Lily laughed and tried to explain to Kate what, exactly, a 'tee-vee' was.

"So you just sit and _watch _this box? Why?" asked Kate incredulously.

"For fun," said Lily. "There's movies and things - shows, I mean. And people watch them. Sometimes for hours on end..." she added, thinking of Vernon.

Kate looked appalled. "Wow. Muggle life must be incredibly bloody boring."

"Tell me about it," muttered Lily. Well, life in Cokeworth, anyway.

"But how do the pictures move? I thought pictures in the Muggle world don't move."

"Electricity."

"Ele-_what_?"

"Don't you have a textbook?"

"Yes," admitted Kate slowly. "But the section on tee-vee's is twelve pages long and it doesn't even have illustrations."

Alice, who had just walked in on their conversation, chuckled at that and sat on the couch next to Lily. "Kate, you lazy troll. Stop leeching off Lily-flower."

"I am not leeching!" retorted Kate. "Lily-flower loves teaching me things."

"Please, no more Lily-flower," groaned Lily.

Alice grinned at her, but obligingly changed the topic. "So Kate, how come you weren't at the game yesterday?"

Lily's thoughts suddenly went to the quidditch match, and then inevitably to James. She had watched the shocking game unfold from the front row of the stands. James had seemed to be in a foul mood. Lily had never seen him play so terribly, nor fly as erratically and with such reckless speed in a game. She wondered what had caused him to become so furious.

Kate sat up and crossed her legs, her essay on tee-vee's forgotten. "I was with Dillon," said Kate, giving a coy smile.

"Ohhh, _Dillon_. How are things with Finch these days?" asked Alice.

"They're fine," said Kate. Lily was not sure, but thought she saw a flicker of something close to sadness in Kate's face before she answered.

"Just fine?" asked Lily.

Kate beamed at her, her eyes lighting up. Maybe Lily had been mistaken. "They're great. _He's _great. Oh, and the thing about him being shy about physical intimacy? Totally false," she said with a wink.

"Is that so?" asked Alice with a raised eyebrow. "So you two were in the broom cupboard yesterday?"

"My, my, how wonderfully naughty of you, Alice," said Kate. "No, not at the broom cupboard stage yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. I do know, however, that he has a rather large -"

"Kate!" said Lily, cutting her off as a round-faced, rosy-cheeked first year passed them.

"Calm down, Miss Head Girl. I was going to say large _heart_. He's too much of a gentleman to suggest such a thing."

Alice giggled, and Lily gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Lily," said Kate, tousling her long hair. "I bet you and Bryce do all sorts of things when we're not looking."

"If you call snogging all sorts of things, then yes, we do all sorts of crazy things," said Lily.

Lily knew that Kate and Alice had gone the furthest in terms of physical relationships with boys compared to her, not that she minded. She preferred to keep them at arm length most of the time. A Head Girl, and previously a prefect, had to keep up her grades and could not afford the distraction, thank you very much.

"So you don't know if Bryce has a large heart?" asked Kate.

Alice snorted with laughter and Lily coughed, saying in her most prissy voice, "No, I do not know if Bryce has a large heart. But I'll be sure to keep you posted."

The three friends laughed, knowing that prudish Lily Evans would do no such thing, and continued chatting amiably about other topics such as how terribly excited they were for the Graduation Ball that was thrown at the end of each year for seventh years leaving Hogwarts. In spite of the disturbing happenings in the magical world, in that moment sitting warm in front of a crackling fire with cheery conversation, death could not touch them.

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Remus' face fell as he read the piece of parchment clutched in his hand. The barn owl that had delivered it was now sneakily eating his breakfast, but he had no thoughts for that. His face hardened as he read the scribbled note. She had written it shortly and bluntly, with no trace of sorrow or regret. Just that she wanted to end it.

He had thought Sarah genuinely cared about him. That was why he had told her the truth of what he really was. Lily's advice had only been an external confirmation of what he had been longing to do for weeks now. True, he had told her in a letter - maybe that was where he had gone wrong. He suspected that she had thrown it in the flames at the first mention of _werewolf_. Perhaps he should have told her face to face, where she could have had time to digest what he was saying and witness the look on his face proving he felt nothing but love for her and would never, ever hurt her.

But was that true? Could he actually promise her - or anyone - their utmost safety around him?

He crumpled the letter before anyone could snatch it off him.

"Something wrong, Moony?" asked Sirius.

Had it been showing in his face? Remus tried to compose himself before answering as casually as he could, "Sarah and I broke up."

Their faces all immediately filled with concern, even James, who had been sulking ever since the failure of a Quidditch match two days ago. Remus hated it. He was deeply grateful for his friends, sure; they had accepted him as he was without judgement or stereotyping, and risked their lives every month to ease his painful transformations, but he knew they would never fully understand, be fully aware, of the trappings and stifling restrictions that being a werewolf brought on his life.

"Why?" asked Peter, and flinched away from Sirius by instinct as Sirius moved to elbow him.

"I told her about my furry little problem. I guess she prefers her men clean-shaven," he joked with an awful stretched smile.

The others sensed that he did not wish to discuss it any further, if the pain he was obviously trying to cover up was any indication. They could have been petty; they could have said '_We told you so'_, but none of them took the bait.

Sirius clapped him on the back. "There's always more fish in the sea, mate. Hey, I've seen that Harriet Gringham eyeing you many times."

Remus smiled again, grateful that Sirius was following his light-hearted tone on the matter, however false it was_._"We'll see," was all he said.

They fell silent again.

Remus was just about to incinerate the letter with his wand when he stopped himself. He placed the scrunched up parchment in his pocket, where it seemed to burn a hole in his leg - and his heart. He would keep it as a reminder. A reminder that he was what he was, and no person could change that. A reminder that he couldn't live like everyone else. A reminder to never love again.

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A few days later, Lily was waiting for James outside the portrait hole before their scheduled patrol. This was the fourth time they would patrol together - the other times, not counting his absence at the very first patrol, had largely consisted of him yelling "_Who goes there?"_ at every rustle and shadow.

She looked at her watch. Ten minutes late. She had just begun tapping her foot on the stone floor when the portrait of Sir Cadogan swung open and James clambered out. He gave her a small smile instead of his usual grin and ruffling of hair when he saw her.

"You're late."

"Sorry."

"Come on," said Lily, already striding off down the corridor. "We have lots to cover."

They descended Gryffindor tower in silence, and walked, equally silent, throughout the fifth floor. This new, sulky, non-talking James was not what Lily was used to. Although it was true that his constant arrogant chatter got on her nerves, this unusual silence was quite disconcerting, and she liked it even less.

"Alright, what is it, Potter," said Lily, halting in the corridor and spinning round to face him. "You've been sulky all night. And all week. Spill."

James looked surprised for a second, and stared at her before replying, "It's nothing."

"Tell me it's not about the Quidditch Cup. I know it's important to you but... it's just a game." _Wow, I am amazing at consoling people,_ thought Lily wryly.

"It's not about the Cup," said James. He put his hands in his pockets. "It's nothing."

"Oh, pish. I can see it's not nothing. You can tell me."

James' hazel eyes studied her expectant expression. "It's the Cobbs," he said finally. "One of the families killed by Death Eaters. They were family friends. They were killed because they were Muggle-born."

Lily felt terrible. _Quidditch_. She had thought he had been this upset over _Quidditch_.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

James shook his head. "Not your fault."

They continued their silent patrol, with Lily still feeling like a snide cow throughout it.

"And Remus," said James out of the blue when they were inspecting the Entrance Hall.

"What?"

"Remus. He's probably told you by now. He and Sarah broke up. He's gutted, the poor guy, you can tell."

If Lily had felt terrible before, it was nothing to the horror she was feeling now. Broke up. She knew why. And it was all her fault.

"Oh, no... Oh, no, no, no..."

James was frowning at her, and even reached out to grasp her arm as she stood wide-eyed with one hand to her mouth. She did not move at his touch, not even reaching for her wand as customary whenever James Potter had the audacity to be in physical contact with her.

"It's my fault," she whispered aloud in spite of herself.

"Lily?" said James in a worried tone. Lily hardly registered his use of her first name. He shook her gently. "Lily, what's your fault? What did you do?"

Lily looked up to meet his gaze, her green eyes shining with a strange glint. "I did it. I told him to tell her. He seemed so sure..."

James let go of her arm. He was probably thinking, _Stupid girl. Stupid, meddling girl._ That's definitely what Lily thought of herself right now.

"I have to go find Remus," Lily said suddenly, turning around and marching up the marble staircase. "I have to... apologise... or something."

"Lily, don't," James responded quickly and grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks. She looked down at him from her place two steps above, her brow furrowed in anxiety. "You'll only make it worse. He doesn't want to talk about it."

"But... " Lily wriggled her hand out of his grip. "No, I can't just leave it, I -"

"Just leave him be!" snapped James, and Lily stopped, her face flushing. "I'm sorry. I just... Just leave him, alright? He's had to deal with change every bloody month since he was a kid. This is no different. He just needs time."

Lily simply nodded soundlessly. "Let's finish patrolling, then," she said quietly.

James agreed and the two Heads continued their silent patrol. Both had been too preoccupied to notice that Severus Snape had been lurking near the entrance to the Great Hall behind the shadow of a pillar, listening.


	12. Bullies and Transfiguration

**Apologies for the long wait! Life happened... But I'm back now and with a couple chapters pre-written, so I won't go disappearing any time soon. Keep those reviews coming! And thanks for the support if anyone is still reading this :)**

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**Chapter 12**

December had finally arrived. The first day of the festive month saw twelve large Christmas trees set up around the Great Hall, glinting with red and gold baubles. Mistletoe hung in odd spots around the castle, and the grey clouds and freezing weather of the grounds held a distinct promise of snow.

"Bye," said Lily as she kissed Bryce.

They parted ways after their lunch together in the Great Hall as Lily went up to Transfiguration and Bryce to the dungeons for Potions.

Lily was not quite sure when they had started meeting regularly and referring to each other as 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. She supposed it was some time after that first Hogsmeade date when Bryce had come up to her and confessed to her that he really liked her. "I really like you too," she had said back. And she did - she felt this giddy feeling whenever she saw him, and she hoped it wouldn't fade away like it always did with boys she liked. She had thought she was _in love_ with Shane Owen - her first boyfriend in fifth year - before the butterflies and sweaty hands disappeared after two weeks and all she wanted to do when he puckered his lips for a kiss was to yell, "Noooo" and duck for cover.

So far all had been well with Bryce.

Lily dodged through the crowd of students towards the marble staircase. She was at the foot of it before she heard someone yelp and quickly turned, in full Head Girl mode.

Behind her was a scene not unusual at Hogwarts: a small boy, probably first-year, looking like he had crashed into someone older causing them to drop their textbooks. What was not typical was that the older someone - a tall, dark haired girl - was now pointing her wand at the trembling first-year.

Lily briskly strode towards them, and as she approached she heard the words, "Filthy Mudblood."

"Hey!" Lily yelled.

The girl jerked and looked up, but when she saw it was Lily, she turned back to the first-year and said, "Pick up my books _now_. How dare you touch me with your filthy hands."

"I didn't mean to," mumbled the first-year, head down and almost in tears.

"What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Lily as she came close enough to see who it was. Bellatrix Black. Cousin of Sirius Black. The sixth-year Slytherin had an air of maliciousness that made Lily feel a surge of dislike whenever she saw her.

"None of your business," Bellatrix said coolly without even a glance at Lily.

Lily had pulled her own wand out and had it aimed at Bellatrix. "Drop your wand, Black. It was an accident, can't you see? Leave it."

Bellatrix laughed, a high-pitched, cackling laugh that made Lily's hair stand on end, and finally turned to face her. "And what are you going to do, Head Girl? Take points off?"

"Harassing a first-year, Black? That's a bit below even you, isn't it?"

The frightened boy had scuttled off as soon as Bellatrix's attention turned away from him.

"Not when he's a Mudblood it's not."

"Don't say that word," said Lily, desperately wanting to hex her but knowing she could not.

"Of course you wouldn't like that word," simpered Bellatrix. "It's a disgrace to Hogwarts, really, that the Head Girl is a-"

"Detention!" Lily cut her off, knowing how pitiful her punishment sounded. "Tonight. Now get moving before I make it the whole week."

Bellatrix's expression soured, and she did not speak as she picked up her books and marched off in the other direction. Lily sighed and rubbed her forehead. _Slytherins._

When she walked into Transfiguration ten minutes late, she thought for a second she had missed the class entirely when she saw that the room was empty. Then she remembered what McGonagall had told them last week: Transfiguration today would be held in Green House 4 in the grounds. _Bollocks._

Lily raced out of the room, with a quick '_Accio' _to summon her coat. By the time she had reached Green House 4, a dilapidated building no longer used for Herbology, the class had already been grouped into teams of three and were standing around their pigs to be Transfigured into couches. They were now onto working on larger animals, and Lily was thoroughly frustrated. The practical aspect of Transfiguration was not her area of expertise at all.

Lily, much to her dismay, ended up having to work with Sirius and James, as Alice and Kate were already practising on a mottled pig with Beatrice. She and James had made awkward small talk since their last patrol, at the end of which Lily had promised him she would not bring up Sarah with Remus, however much she wanted to go running up to him and apologise and sympathise profusely.

"Where's Remus?" she asked as she joined them.

"He's not feeling too well. Worried sick about his mother, poor guy," answered James.

"Oh," said Lily. She looked down at their pig. It was a plump, shockingly large creature that looked like it could bowl her over if it ever got disgruntled at not being Transfigured into a couch yet.

"I know, it looks freakishly like Slughorn, right?" said Sirius, and Lily had to chuckle at that.

Indeed, the pig's beady little black eyes reminded her of Slughorn's own that would light up at the prospect of making a new, Important connection. Not to mention it's large belly was reminiscent of the Potions professor's impressive torso.

"Hey Black, I just had a run-in with your dear cousin," Lily told him.

"Which one of my dear cousins?" Sirius had two at Hogwarts - Narcissa, a Slytherin in the same year, better-looking and not as nasty as her sister, but still a Slytherin through and through; and Lily's favourite, Bellatrix.

"Bellatrix, of course."

"Ahh, Bellatrix. How is she doing nowadays? Did you get a chance to catch up?"

"No, unfortunately we didn't really get a chance to talk. She was too busy trying to hex a first-year."

"That sounds like her," said Sirius, patting the pig's head. "She's nice and caring like that, isn't she Mr. Porky?"

"Tell me you hexed her, Evans," said James.

"You know very well I can't," she told him. "But _Merlin_ I wanted to!" James smirked at that.

"I don't see any couches!" Professor McGonagall sang as she walked past their group.

Sirius promptly Transfigured Mr. Porky into a pink couch, which even McGonagall had to give a reluctant nod of approval at. It was suede and did not have the pig's hooves at the bottom that others seemed to be having trouble with. He changed it back into a pig.

"Your turn, Evans."

Lily stepped forward. Mr. Porky stared her down. She muttered the spell and flicked her wand in the way it had been described in the textbook. Nothing. She huffed, and tried again. This time it's snout moved, which got Lily excited, before she realised it was probably just snorting in disdain at her failure.

"You're not moving your wand right," said James.

"How am I supposed to move it, then?"

Before she knew what was happening James had his large, warm hand wrapped around hers and was going through the proper motion with her.

"It's more of a flick, and you need to put emphasis on the downwards curve."

His hands were rough, calloused from hours of Quidditch practice, but his grip was gentle as he guided her hand through the air. She stood silently, letting him guide her, enjoying the way her hand felt hot in his. Then she realised _James Potter_ was touching her, and she pulled out of his grip. For a second it reminded her of the scene on the marble staircase during last week's patrol.

"Thanks," she said curtly.

She tried the spell again, this time with James' pointers, and the pig was Transfigured into a pig-skin couch covered in brown splotches and a curly tail.

"Good try, Miss Evans. Now, again," said Professor McGonagall on another round, who turned it back into that stupid pig.

Lily nodded and tried again. Again, the same result. And the third time. And the fourth. By then the pig had begun to look distinctly couch-ish; it's legs were thicker and it's belly looked more cushioned, and it had buttons down it's back. Sirius had tired of watching Lily's amateur spell-casting and had migrated to Kate's group.

Lily let out a small, incomprehensible noise of frustration. James chuckled, no doubt because his talents were _so much more superior, _the arrogant prat.

"You try it, then," she huffed.

James shrugged, "Okay." He stepped forward and with a perfect downward-then-flick Transfigured the pig into a suede couch, complete with matching cushions.

Lily just stared at it blankly. Then she flopped onto it with an exasperated sigh. "I give up," she moaned. "Transfiguration is not my thing."

"But you're Lily Evans," grinned James. "Every subject is 'your thing'. Come on, get up," he said, and grabbed her hand to pull her up with one big yank. Ugh, why did he keep touching her?

"You have to try and visualise it," advised James. _I can't believe Potter is helping me with schoolwork, _Lily could not help but think as he talked. "Close your eyes."

"How would that -"

"Just do it."

Lily obliged.

"Can you see it in your head? Can you see the overall shape? And each seam? And the little pink fibres?"

Lily nodded.

"Okay, now try."

She did it. Mr. Porky was no more and in his place stood a pale pink, suede couch with not a hoof or tail in sight. Lily looked around excitedly, and caught James smiling at her with his crooked grin, his hazel eyes twinkling. She quickly looked away.

"Thanks, Potter," she said grudgingly.

"No problem. I charge a fee, you know."

"Oh?" said Lily with raised eyebrows.

"Indeed. That'll be one date tonight, please Miss."

Lily should've known it'd be something like this. But she was so thrilled at her victory over Mr. Porky that she could not muster enough disdain to think of a witty rejection. Instead Lily said solemnly, "I'm not sure the boyfriend would be too happy about that, Sir."

"Ahh, the boyfriend." James winked. "The boyfriend doesn't have to know."

Lily shook her head. "No can do, Sir. Besides, student-teacher relationships are strictly forbidden."

James smirked and said, "Well then, I guess I have no choice but to keep you in detention, Miss Evans."

Oh bloody Merlin, what was she doing? Was she _flirting_ with him?

Just then Sirius interrupted, and she had never been more happy to see him.

"Great Scotts, Evans, what do they put in the air up in the Gryffindor girls' dorms? Your friends are all as shockingly bad at Transfiguration as you."

Lily looked over in time to see Kate shriek as her group's pig was converted into a couch with a gigantic pig's head mounted on top. Lily could not help but laugh.

"Watch what you say, Black. You know we will crush you in exams."

"Yes, I know. But what happens if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, desperately wanting a sit-down, with only a pig for company? Who'll be the one laughing then?"

"Less talking, more Transfiguring," said McGonagall as she passed by once more.

And for the rest of the lesson poor Mr. Porky was Transfigured back and forth no less than five times by Lily Evans, Transfiguration extraordinaire.


	13. Broom Cupboards and Midnight Snacks

**I'm baaaaaack! Apologies for the (super duper long) delay. This chapter is dedicated to PurifiedDrinkingWater.**

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**Chapter 13**

"Meet me tonight, Lily?"

Lily looked up at Bryce from his embrace, at his adorable sleepy chocolate eyes. "I'm sorry, I have patrol tonight."

They were in an empty corridor parting ways before their afternoon classes. He was leaning against a wall and she was content with his strong arms wrapped around her, snuggling against his chest.

"Can't you miss it?" he begged, putting on a puppy dog expression.

"I really can't," she said regrettably, pulling away.

"Aw c'mon, Lils. One night can't hurt, right? You always patrol."

"I'm Head Girl, Bryce. I'm sorry, I really want to..."

"Potter misses his patrols, doesn't he?" Bryce argued back.

Lily was a bit taken aback by his continued opposition to her patrolling that night. "He only missed the first one. And that's exactly why I can't miss any, because I flipped out at him when it happened. How would that look if I missed one too?"

Bryce snorted. "Who cares what Potter thinks? I thought you hated the guy."

"I don't _hate _him," said Lily. Exasperated, frustrated, annoyed, angry - sure, but she had never _hated _James Potter.

"All right, then. If he's that important to you," said Bryce, pushing himself off the wall and picking up his satchel.

"Bryce..." Lily implored. "Don't be like that... That's not fair. You know I can't."

Bryce searched her face and her pleading expression, and sighed. His shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Lils... I've just - I don't know. It's just frustrating, you know? You always going on about how much you hate Potter, but then when it's time to talk to him it's like you never said anything against the bloke."

Lily nodded in understanding. "I know how it sounds... But Bryce, he's Head Boy. I have to work with him whether I want to or not. Even when I just really want to be spending time with you," she said with a small smile.

Bryce embraced her again, and kissed the top of her head. "Alright, then. Go patrol, Miss Head Girl. But don't think we're not postponing this date for another night."

Lily smiled up at him. "You bet," she said. What she really wanted to say, however, was that she was extremely behind with her Charms homework and all she wanted to do was spend the entire weekend in the library.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dillon breathed in her ear.

Kate turned to face him. In the dim lighting all she could make out was the outline of his nose and the glint of his eyes as he looked at her through a hormone-hazed sight. Their late-night snogging had led them - or rather, Kate had surreptitiously led them - to the broom cupboard next to the statue of an old gnome on the fifth floor. It was spacious enough for a conjured mattress to be placed on the floor with all the buckets and mops pushed to the edges.

This also happened to be the same broom cupboard she and Sirius would often sneak off to. Her first time with Sirius had been in this exact spot, and it had been a rushed, surprisingly painful affair. He had seemed like he knew what he was doing - Kate had just gone along with it, all the while not being able to believe her luck in finally taming the handsome womaniser (as that had been what she believed she was doing), the infamous Sirius Black.

And so last night, she had stumbled upon a revelation: this was the reason she had this mysterious, inexplicable attachment to Sirius; because he had been her first, and if she could just recreate that scene with Dillon - whom she was very fond of - she could finally be free from the pull of the black-haired heartbreaker, could she not?

"I'm sure," Kate whispered back, and kissed him.

She felt his hands on her back underneath her sweater, fumbling with the clasp of her bra. She helped him undo it. Sitting up, she pulled off her sweater, and lay back down next to him as he caressed the naked curves of her body.

"You're beautiful," he murmured. Kate felt a warm tingling in her chest as he spoke.

She traced her finger along his chest and slowly down to the buckle of his jeans.

"Wait wait wait," he said quickly as she started undoing them.

Kate paused and watched as he performed a Locking Charm on the door. "No interruptions," he said.

Kate smiled.

xxxxxxxxxx

The last corridor of the patrol was empty when the Head Girl and Head Boy turned the corner. Satisfied, they started making their way back to the dormitories.

Lily could not wait to get back to her bed and fall into an essay-induced coma. She had been up most of last night, starting and finishing a Charms essay that was due this morning. And she was also desperately hungry, having skipped dinner to go to a meeting that the Gobstones Club had requested of her. They wanted use of the empty classroom on the sixth floor, but Lily could not make them understand that yes, she was Head Girl, but that did not mean she had control over Peeves and that he would listen to her if she were to tell him to get out and take all the stolen goods that littered that room with him. In the end, they had gone away mumbling, "Useless...", with Lily trying extremely hard not to yell in frustration at them.

James was absentmindedly ruffling his hair next to her as they walked back out of the dungeons and into the Entrance Hall.

"Stop doing that," she snapped at him.

"You don't like my hair?" said James, looking hurt.

"No."

James widened his eyes. "But Lily... I do this for you!"

Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Buy a hairbrush."

James looked scandalised.

They had almost reached the stairs when Lily's stomach gave a rather loud rumble. Lily's hand jumped to her belly in spite of herself.

"Hungry, Evans?" asked James, amused.

"Starving," she replied.

James stopped walking, and Lily abruptly stopped with him.

"Care for a midnight snack?" he asked her with a mischievous smile.

Lily shook her head. "I'm really tired... And besides, where do you plan to get this snack from?"

"The kitchens, of course."

"The kitchens?" Lily had never been to the kitchens - had never known that a student could even access the kitchens.

"Don't tell me you've never been before?"

"I didn't know we could," she said.

"Well... technically, students aren't allowed. But being Heads has got to count for something, right?"

Lily highly doubted it. But the mythical kitchens had piqued her curiosity, and she found herself accepting James' invitation. He led her away from the marble stairs of the Entrance Hall and to the left, where they descended another flight of stairs. They came upon a wide, brightly-lit corridor lined with portraits of food. James stopped in front of a painting of a fruit bowl.

"Watch this," he told her with a grin.

He tickled the green pear in the middle of the fruit bowl, and Lily almost jumped when it started giggling and wriggled, before changing into a green door handle. James turned it and the painting swung open to reveal the Hogwarts kitchens.

It was a vast room, it's walls filled with gleaming pots and pans all the way up to the high ceiling, and there was a huge brick fireplace that made up most of the back wall. Four empty tables, identical to the long House tables set up in the Great Hall above, occupied the middle of the room. Lily could spot a few house-elves bobbing in and out behind the tables, some carrying platters of food.

"Have you never wondered where your food came from?" asked James, watching her awe-struck face.

Lily continued to survey the place without glancing at him. "No, not really... I've never really given it much thought before."

James chuckled. "Ahh, Evans. You have much to learn."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

James sat down at one of the long wooden tables, and Lily followed suit.

"Master Potter!" piped a high-pitched voice.

Lily looked down to see a house-elf, waif-thin and wearing a ragged old pillow-case, his huge, pale eyes directed at James.

"Binky!" greeted James. "How're you?"

"Oh! Master Potter asks me how old Binky is doing..." said Binky the house-elf, tugging on his pillow-case. "Binky is but a humble house-elf, Sir. Binky is doing his job as always, Sir, working for the great Headmaster Dumbledore."

Lily had only seen house-elves in textbooks, and she watched this exchange, fascinated, and slightly touched at how warm James was with a creature that most wizards considered a slave.

"This is my friend Lily Evans, Binky. She's Head Girl."

"Hi, Binky," said Lily with a smile, and held out her hand. She quickly pulled it back when Binky jumped away from it.

"Oh! The Miss holds out her hand for Binky! No, no, Binky could not, he is but a house-elf," piped Binky. He bowed instead, and Lily nodded in acknowledgement.

"Do you have any food to spare, Binky?" asked James.

"Do I!" said Binky. "There is always food to spare for Master Potter." With that, Binky shot off somewhere into the recesses of the kitchens.

"He's a pleasant fellow," remarked Lily.

"I think he liked you," said James, and Lily smiled.

Before they knew it, Binky had come back with a platter of desserts and fruit piled so high he was carrying it over his head and staggering towards them. He placed it on the bench next to them.

"Food for Master Potter and the Miss," said Binky proudly.

"Thanks, Binky," said James.

"No need to thank Binky, Master Potter. He was merely doing the bidding of a great wizard," assured Binky (Lily snorted). "But now he must go and sleep before breakfast tomorrow. Farewell, Master Potter. Miss."

They said goodbye to Binky, who Disapparated to wherever house-elves slept.

"Now I see how your head got so big," said Lily, smirking. "It got fatter on the compliments of house-elves."

James laughed. "Yes, I come down here and gorge myself on treacle tarts and make the house-elves applaud me whenever you crush my ego, Evans."

Lily would not be surprised if that were true.

She inspected the platter that Binky had brought them, and felt a thrill of excitement when she saw some lemon meringues piled below a bunch of grapes. She _loved _the lemon meringues at Hogwarts. She grabbed one and savoured the tangy-but-sweet taste of it's fluffy-but-crunchy shell, and the soft cream underneath.

"You like lemon meringues?" asked James, watching her face as she enjoyed it.

"I _love_ lemon meringues."

James chuckled, and opted for the juicy purple grapes.

"So how did you find out about this place?" Lily asked, mid-bite through her second meringue.

"That's a secret," he said. Lily raised her eyebrows. "If I told you, I'd have sacrifice you to the Giant Squid."

"All right, all right, Mr. Mysterious. Are there any other Hogwarts secrets you know, then?"

"Perhaps," said James, mysteriously_._

"Never mind," she said, and popped the rest of the meringue in her mouth. "I don't care to get involved in your marauding anyway."

James' mouth twitched as she said that last line. Then he said, "Evans", in a tone that was suddenly serious. "Do you like Wilkinson?"

Lily, who had been reaching for another fluffy piece-of-heaven dessert, paused. "Yes, Potter, I quite like him. I'm going out with him, you know."

"I know," he said quietly, and she could not read his face as he said it - it was emotionless, as if he felt nothing - or at least, was very good at covering up. "Is he good to you?"

Had it been another time, another year, Lily probably would have snapped at him, and admonished him for sticking his nose into her business, as if he owned her or had a right to know everything about her. But she decided against it; he seemed so serious.

"Yes, he's good to me."

James nodded. "I guess that's good enough."

_Good enough? What do you mean, _good enough_?_

"Are you okay, Potter?" Lily asked. She had no idea why she was even bothering. What could she do about it?

"Yeah," said James. "I'm fine. I just want you to be happy, Lily. If Wilkinson makes you happy... I guess I can live with that."

Lily did not know how to respond to that. She knew she should be rightfully irritated with him for implying he had some sort of previous claim over her, or they had shared some romantic 'history', but she was strangely touched by this gesture. This was James Potter talking, and James Potter was not one to give up something that he wanted, especially if that something was Lily Evans.

"All right, Romeo," said Lily (James frowned in confusion at the reference), "Thanks. I know you'll find someone, Potter, it's just not me..."

James suddenly snapped back to his playful self, and told her dramatically, "But my heart will forever belong to you, my Lily-flower. Till the day I breathe my last breath, I swear it."

Lily grinned and shook her head, glad she was no longer dealing with a sensitive James. Arrogant Potter, she could handle. Toe-rag, scumbag, bullying Potter, even. But a _sensitive_ Potter? Lily did not like the terrible awkwardness it caused her to suffer.

"I think Beatrice likes you," she said truthfully. Indeed, she had seen Beatrice sizing him up many times over the years.

"Beatrice has big breasts," James commented.

"Potter!"

James shrugged. "It's true. They scare me."

Lily could not help but laugh, however much she wanted to berate him for his crudeness. Beatrice did indeed have a rather large bosom, and she did all she could to draw attention to it, undoing the top button of her robes in class to reveal the low-cut shirts she wore underneath.

James grinned at her, that crooked grin of his, and they stayed for a while longer, chatting as Lily finished all of the lemon meringues on the platter.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate was back in the dormitory, under her covers with the heavy sheets drawn up to her face so that only her eyes showed, like she used to sleep when she was a little girl after one of Arabella King's lectures on how Muggle-borns were no more than people waving around sticks. She stared up blankly into the darkness, and listened to the soft breathing of Alice and Beatrice as they slept.

She was grateful Lily was not back yet - she would have woken up at the sound of Kate sneaking back into the room, and start bombarding her with questions. She did not want to talk about what had happened just yet. She did not even want to think about it.

Dillon had been gentle, and they had made love where she and Sirius used to more or less go at each other like animals. She had laid in his arms afterwards, warm in his embrace and a feeling of satisfaction descending. So why did she feel so empty?


	14. Parties and Small Talk

**Thanks for all the support and the patience! Really enjoyed writing this chapter so let me know what you think :)**

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**Chapter 14**

Some time in the middle of December, it had begun to snow. By Christmas Eve the grounds were covered in a thick blanket of white, with a light frosting on the sleet of ice across the Black Lake. Hogwarts was peaceful during the break between terms when most students went home to celebrate and catch up with family. One room within its walls, however, was anything but...

"PADFOOT!"

Sirius ducked behind his bed as an irritated James marched towards him.

"PADFOOT! Prepare to die, you scumbag!"

"What did I do?" asked Sirius, looking as innocent as an angel.

"Did you do this?"James demanded, pointing at his forehead. On it were the words, _MR McGONAGALL_ in intricate, swirly letters.

"Yes," said Sirius, grinning.

Remus, who was sitting across the room from them on his own bed, was laughing. Peter was missing out on this spectacle, having been called away for the break by his over-protective mother who was horrified at the thought of her son having to spend Christmas with 'good-for-nothing hoodlums'.

"How the hell do I get it off? exclaimed James, furiously rubbing his forehead.

"You can't. Not till it fades away, anyway - and that won't be for another day at least."

James made an incomprehensible noise of frustration and plonked himself on the bed.

"Easy, Prongs," said Sirius, still grinning as he got up and sat next to him. "It's just a prank. Remember? Christmas Eve, last one up? You were the last one up."

"Yeah, yeah," said James. "Except this year I'm going to Slughorn's Christmas party. And my parents will be there too." _And Lily, _he added silently.

"Oh. Sorry," said Sirius, not looking sorry in the slightest.

"Relax, your parents will be glad you're finally showing some commitment to one woman," assured Remus with an equally big smile.

"This isn't about Evans being there, is it?" asked Sirius, reading his mind.

"No," said James, a little too quickly.

He caught Sirius and Remus exchange a _look_ before Sirius turned back to him. James had previously received advice from Sirius about his situation with Lily - which was, thanks to Sirius, no situation at all, since he had gone and opened his gob and spewed things about 'understanding' her, and 'being happy for her', when all he wanted her to do was see that he, James Potter, was the one for her.

"Ahh, Prongs, what did I tell you? You've cast the net. Now you just have to wait. I've seen the way Evans keeps looking over at you, she can't help herself. It's only a matter of time before she breaks up with Wilkinson and comes running into your 'understanding' arms."

James shook his head at Sirius' ludicrousness. "And what happens if she doesn't break up with him?"

"Step two."

Remus groaned.

"What's step two?"

"Make her jealous, of course," said Sirius, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't tell him that," admonished Remus.

"Hey," said Sirius, pointing a finger of warning at Remus. "I know what I'm talking about. I'm telling you, it works! All girls are the same. They see you with someone, they get overcome with jealousy, and they come running."

Remus rolled his eyes, but couldn't help a smile at Sirius' predictions. They were true, but could only be applied to Sirius.

"But she isn't like most girls," said James. "And don't you remember? I tried this last year - I took Penny Bunkins to Hogsmeade, and Evans didn't bat an eye."

"But you had fun with Penny Bunkins though, correct?"

James glared at him. "The girl tried to rape me."

"Now that's what I call fun," said Sirius with a wink.

Remus was chuckling, and getting back under his blankets for some more sleep. "Don't worry, Prongs, Padfoot was being considerate - that thing on your forehead ensures you don't have to go out with a girl to make Lily think you've moved on."

"Exactly," said Sirius, nodding. "What Moony said. You should be thanking me for being so empathetic."

"Empathetic my arse," muttered James.

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Lily made her way to Slughorn's office at eight o'clock that night and could not help but feel a thrill of anticipation. She did not usually look forward to Slughorn's Christmas parties as much as she did now, and that was because this year, Slughorn had told her he would introduce her to some Important People. While she did not particularly approve of Slughorn's favoured way of social advancement - through fawning over said Important People and their relatives - she had to admit, being Muggle-born meant that she did not know many witches and wizards outside of Hogwarts, and was in no position to pass up the opportunity to mingle with their like if she were to be successful in the future.

The sounds of laughter and loud music reached her as she approached his office. Just outside the door, she adjusted the neckline of the silver-grey dress robes she had borrowed from Kate. They were a rather tight fit on her, she noted uncomfortably, and thought they would have looked much better with Kate's lovely dark hair. But Alice and Kate had both insisted Lily looked nice in them, and they had tugged and pulled at her hair for half an hour doing it up in a sophisticated up-do, and had even convinced her to wear a little eye make-up.

"To accentuate your stunning emerald orbs, Lily-flower," Kate had cooed as she applied a smoky eyeshadow.

One more tug of the dress robes, and Lily entered. As it was every year, Slughorn's office was decorated to look as if the party was being held in a large tent - colourful hangings were draped on the walls and ceilings, and a large golden lamp hung in the centre, where hundreds of live, glowing fairies flitted in and out. The room was warm and stuffy and already full of people. House-elves bearing platters of goblets and food roamed between them; Lily tried to spot Binky among them, without success.

Lily stood near the door, waiting for Bryce.

"Lily!" called Slughorn as he spotted her from his place in the centre of the room.

Lily smiled and went up to greet him. "Good evening, Professor."

"You look absolutely stunning, m'dear." Slughorn was wearing deep purple velvet robes and a matching pointed hat, and his cheeks were distinctly pink from too much mead.

"Thank you, Professor," she said. "You look quite dashing yourself, if you don't mind me saying so."

Slughorn chuckled. "Oh, how you flatter this old man. Now come, come, there's someone I want you to meet," he said, and ushered her the far side of the room. Bryce would have to look for her himself when he got here.

They stopped at the end of the room, and Slughorn grabbed a goblet of mead from a silver platter carried by a house-elf. She took one, too, and sipped at it while Slughorn tapped the shoulder of a tall wizard who had his back turned to them and was deep in conversation with a group of elderly warlocks, whose pipe smoke Lily tried very hard not to cough on.

The wizard turned, and her immediate impression was of a disgruntled horse. His long face was accented by a large nose and large, slightly bulging glassy brown eyes, and a thick neck that looked like it had the strength of a purebred stallion.

"Alistair Cromby, I would like to introduce to you Lily Evans, my star student."

Alistair Cromby smiled, revealing large teeth that made his equine appearance even more distinct, and held out his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir," said Lily politely, and forced herself not to draw her hand back as he placed a sloppy kiss on the back of it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Evans," he said.

"She has expressed an interest to me in becoming a Healer, you know," Slughorn told him. He looked at Lily and said proudly, "Mr Cromby here is the Head Healer at St Mungo's."

Lily's eyebrows went up despite herself. Slughorn really did have some impressive connections.

Alistair Cromby laughed and said, "You talk too highly of me, Horace. I am a Healer, yes, but I am Head of _recruitment _at St Mungo's."

Okay, maybe not that impressive.

"And a job no less important!" pronounced Slughorn.

"We have opportunities for bright young things such as yourself, after you finish school," said Cromby, addressing Lily now. "Have you heard about the internships we provide?"

"Doris!" said Slughorn suddenly, standing on his tip-toes and waving over heads as he spotted someone of note through the crowd. Slughorn excused himself and went bustling off.

"No I haven't, but I'd be very interested in an internship," said Lily.

Cromby smiled another horsey smile. "Brilliant. Oh, I am so relieved Horace introduced me to someone like you. I was worried that I'd be bombarded with students of lesser pedigree..."

Lily frowned at that. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't know what you mean by 'lesser pedigree'."

"Well, you know..." He leaned forward, as if professing a great secret. "Those not of _magical descent_," he whispered.

Lily pulled back, her anger suddenly spiking. "I don't think being pure-blood pertains any sort of superiority to a witch or wizard. Especially not intellectual, if that's what you are implying. _Sir_," she added, just to keep a semblance of politeness.

Cromby chuckled as if she had said something highly amusing. "Well of course it does, Miss Evans. There've been countless studies done on the matter, and all evidence points to the fact that the purer the blood, the better the wizard."

"Those studies were no doubt biased, carried out by 'purer blood'. Sir."

"And you know this how?" quizzed Cromby. "You would really have the audacity to overthrow reams of evidence collected by great wizards based on what, exactly?"

"Based on personal experience," said Lily curtly. _Screw the 'Sir'._

Cromby almost roared with laughter. "Personal experience? Don't tell me you have a rather smart friend who is Muggle-born. I admit, there are exceptions, but -"

"_I _am Muggle-born," said Lily.

Cromby paused, and blinked for a moment. "Well..." he said slowly, not in the slightest bit sorry he had offended her. "I must congratulate you, then. In overcoming the trappings of the genetic cards life has dealt you."

She fought the temptation to throw her goblet of mead in his face. "There are many Muggle-borns at Hogwarts that are the smartest, most brilliant witches and wizards I know, and it has absolutely nothing to do with their blood purity."

"Like I said. There are exceptions, but the majority are all more or less Muggles wielding borrowed wands, and St. Mungo's needs the best of the best for the grueling spells and tasks -"

Lily interrupted, "I don't think St. Mungo's realises that -"

And Cromby promptly spoke over her, "- required of a Senior Healer; they may become Healers, yes, but -"

"- they're missing out on the most brightest pupils that could -"

"- being promoted would be out of the question."

"- be a great asset to your team," she finished. She added hotly, "And I personally find your ideology to be disturbingly similar to Voldemort's notions on blood superiority."

Cromby seemed to find this incredibly offensive, and his eyes bulged out even more. "You- you- how _dare _you even suggest- I have _never_ -"

"Joan!" said a familiar voice, and Lily almost did not recognise James who had appeared at just the right moment. His hair was groomed, for once, and flattened against his forehead in a strange style. She had never been happier to see him.

"Oh Joan, thank Merlin I found you. Don't go running off like that," continued James, and Lily frowned at him. He grabbed her hand as he said so, and Lily, confused as to what he was getting at, played along. "I'm sorry, sir, was Joan here disturbing you? My friend likes causing trouble with strangers you see. I brought her out from St. Mungo's Permanent Ward for tonight, to mingle with some educated people such as yourself to see if it would help."

Cromby did not look too convinced, and merely scowled and did not say anything.

"I hope she didn't cause you too much distress. I think she likes to call herself Lily Evans now and again, I have no idea where she got that name from, to be honest."

"Now hold on -" Lily began, but promptly bit back her words as James clamped down on her hand with an iron grip so hard it hurt.

"Your _friend_ here was just accusing me of having some quite abhorrent allegiances," said Cromby. "And don't think you can fool me, boy, Horace Slughorn himself introduced her to me as Lily Evans just moments ago."

James laughed so heartily that even Lily believed it to be genuine. "Ahh, that Professor Slughorn. Always the practical joker. See what he did to me?" James lifted up his mop of flattened hair to reveal '_MR McGONAGALL'_ etched on his head in cursive letters. If Lily had not been so incensed she would have laughed.

Cromby scowled some more before saying, "Well... inform Professor Slughorn that I do not find his jokes amusing in the slightest. And I would recommend you reconsider bringing your friend to such events in the future." And with that, Cromby turned around and rejoined the warlocks under their cloud of smoke.

James, not letting go of his vice-like grip on her hand, then dragged Lily across the room through throngs of people, all the way to the entrance. As soon as they came to a halt Lily yanked her hand from his and glared at him. "What do you think you're playing at, Potter?" she said, clenching and unclenching her fist and flexing her fingers.

"Sorry about your hand," said James. He sighed. "Evans... You can't just go flaunting that stuff around anymore. It's not safe."

"I wasn't _flaunting _anything. It's the truth."

"Yes, I know, but..." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, most likely without thinking, because he swore when it messed up his new hairstyle causing a few locks to stick straight up while the rest still stuck neatly to his forehead. "Just try not to take any strong views on any one side," advised James. "It's safer that way. And you being Muggle-born and all, it's already dangerous for you as it is..."

Lily felt a chill down her spine which she refused to acknowledge. She was merely a student at Hogwarts! She was no danger to anyone, and thus not a target of anyone. "And what makes you so wise on the matter?" she retorted.

"That's what my parents told me. They used to be Aurors - my dad used to be Head Auror."

"Oh."

James sighed again. "Just promise me you won't say anything like that to anyone outside of Hogwarts again, Evans."

"Alright," said Lily. A pause. "Thanks."

James smiled, and Lily couldn't help but smile herself. _Ugh. Why am I smiling because of Potter's smile?_

"That hair is atrocious," Lily commented. He really did look better with his messy, 'broomstick-swept' hair, she admitted now. His new flattened style made his fringe a stark line just above his eyes, and along with those round glasses, he looked like the kind of stranger that your mother warned you not to accept lollies from in case he lured you into his van.

"But I bought a hairbrush like you said!" said James, aghast.

Lily shook her head. "Not quite the look I was going for."

"Ah, so there was a _look_ you wanted me to go for, then."

"No."

"Oh. You look really nice, Evans."

"Thanks. Why are you here? Slughorn hates you."

"Jeez, way to put it bluntly."

"Sorry."

"Because my parents are friends with Slughorn."

"Your parents are here?"

"James?" said a woman's voice, and Lily looked behind her to see a witch and wizard approach them.

"Hi, mum," said James, and moved to hug her. He grimaced as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Dad," he said, embracing him too.

They were much older than Lily had pictured his parents to be (yes, she had pictured James Potter's parents) - they looked well into their sixties, but the tall couple seemed to exude an aura of authority that was not just due to their stature. She saw that James was the spitting image of his father, with his proud nose and the strong jaw. Mr Potter's hair was fully grey, making him seem older than his wife whose dark hair - unmistakably James' jet black - still seemed to be in the process of greying.

"And who might this be?" said Mr. Potter, looking from his son to Lily and back again.

"Lily Evans," said Lily, shaking their hands.

"Oh, you're the Head Girl?" asked Mrs. Potter, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

"Yes, Mrs Potter."

"Please, call me Evelyn."

"I hope our James hasn't been causing you too much trouble," chuckled Mr. Potter.

"I don't know what you mean, Sir. James is as innocent as a lamb, all of Hogwarts knows that." She thought she better use his first name in front of his doting parents.

The Potters laughed at that. Mr. Potter said, "James, you never told me about this delightful young lady." Something about the way he said it (emphasising the '_never_', or perhaps the subtle brow raise at James) made that seem like a lie, but Lily didn't say anything. "You must have her around for the Easter break." He turned back to Lily. "We've just done up the poolhouse, and James said he would invite a couple of his friends during the warmer months."

"Dad..." James started.

Mr. Potter ignored his son and continued, "Now I know you might be busy with schoolwork, but it's good to take a breather sometimes and -"

"Terrence!" exclaimed Evelyn Potter, playfully hitting her husband on the shoulder. "They have N.E.W.T.'s to study for! What kind of parents would we be if we encouraged slacking off?"

"Oh no no no, it wouldn't be slacking, Evelyn. I'm just saying, you have to balance these things, am I right?"

It sounded marvelous to Lily, but she could not imagine herself ever voluntarily stepping foot in James Potter's house. Good thing she had an excuse.

"That sounds wonderful," Lily beamed. "But my sister is getting married during the break, and I need to be home to help with the wedding. And I'm also a bridesmaid."

"Oh of course, dear. I'm sure your sister wouldn't want you to miss her wedding," said Evelyn Potter.

"No, she wouldn't be too happy about it." _She'd be over the moon if I missed it._

"Is that Horace?" said Terrence Potter, looking off into the crowd. "We haven't had a chance to say hello yet. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lily, but we best be off."

They said their goodbyes and I-hope-we-will-see-you-soons, and Lily was once again left with James.

"Petunia's getting married?" asked James, surprised. Lily had been complaining about her sister on some of their patrols, so James was aware of the not-so-happy relationship, but not a wedding. Petunia had conveniently forgotten to send Lily an invitation, and she had only found out last week when she had written to her parents and they had used the owl to reply.

"Yes. To some walrus."

"_Really?"_

"No, James, not _really _a walrus. It's illegal in the Muggle world."

"You called me James," he said, grinning.

"Did I? I meant Potter. Sorry."

"You can still come, you know. If you want. After the wedding," said James, putting his hands in his pockets.

Lily was touched at his awkward invitation. But this was still Potter. "I'll see," she said.

James nodded. "Right. I'm going home after this with my parents for Christmas. Are you doing -"

"Lily!" said Bryce, coming over to them having just entered Slughorn's party. They greeted each other with a kiss (James' face was indiscernible) and he said, "Sorry I'm late. There was a commotion up in Ravenclaw dorms, someones cat ate someones toad, there was a lot of shrieking, tears, the whole lot."

"That sounds awful," said Lily.

"_Awfully _awful," quipped James.

Bryce glanced to Potter, and gave him a curt nod. James gave an equally polite but cold nod in return.

"C'mon, Lils. Lets get something to eat, I'm starving," he said, and led her away with a hand placed to the small of her back.

She looked back at James and gave a small smile in farewell, but he merely stood frozen with his hands in his pockets, glowering after the pair as they disappeared into the crowd.


	15. Christmas and Presents

**Yeah, kind of a slow chapter with not much happening... but will update in a few days! Thanks for all the reviews guys :)**

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**Chapter 15**

Christmas had finally arrived. For those remaining at Hogwarts, that meant a flurry of present-opening at the foot of their beds where each had a small pile of gifts, stacked up in the night by house-elves.

Lily woke to the sound of Kate shrieking and jumping up and down on Alice's bed, yelling, "Presents! Presents!"

"Kate..." groaned Alice, rolling over and pushing her face into her pillow.

"C'mon you slags, we've got presents to open!"

Lily usually went home for Christmas, but this year she had decided to stay at Hogwarts, since she would be there for Petunia's wedding in the Easter holidays anyway. She could stomach only so much of Petunia in one year, and she was sure her sister felt the same.

Alice groggily pushed herself out of bed, as did Lily, mumbling sleepy nonsense as she did so. Kate had already begun ripping excitedly through her pile of presents and exclaiming loudly and cooing over each one.

Lily had four presents this year. She opened the first, which turned out to be a sterling silver manicure and pedicure set from her parents. She smiled and set it aside. The second was from both Kate and Alice; silk dress robes in a brilliant emerald green, with intricate gold embroidery on the hem and sleeves.

"For the Graduation Ball," said Alice.

"We knew we could never talk you into buying something like that, so we thought we'd get it ourselves," said Kate.

Lily smirked. "You know me too well."

They forced her to try it on then and there, and Lily found the neckline to be alarmingly low. They cackled as she complained about respectability, appropriateness, and Head Girl-ship.

"Nonsense," said Alice. "You look charming, Lily-kins."

"The perfect picture of modesty," crowed Kate.

Lily rolled her eyes, but gave them a grudging smile. Despite the shocking amount of cleavage it showed, it really was an amazing robe.

The next present was from Bryce. He had given her a pair of shimmering opal earrings, a tad on the old woman-ish side, but she loved them nonetheless. He was gone for the holidays, but Lily hoped the owl she had sent with his present - dragon-hide Quidditch gloves - had arrived by today.

And last but not least, James Potter's present to her. Every year for Christmas he gave her a present. It either took the form of a prank or something outrageous she would never use in reality; in fifth year it had been a beautiful wooden figurine of a stallion, which after an hour upon opening had changed back into the enormous hairy rat it had been Transfigured from. She never bothered getting him anything.

So it was with much trepidation that she opened this last gift. There was no card with a heart-felt note about his undying love this year, thank Merlin; only a small flat box wrapped in baby blue paper sealed with a yellow ribbon. She undid the bow carefully, and held her breath as she unwrapped the paper and lifted off the lid of the box, slowly... slowly...

It was a lemon meringue. Lily smiled.

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After the Christmas feast at lunch, Kate went to find Dillon. They had agreed to exchange presents personally, and Kate was looking forward to it. She gripped her rather messily-wrapped present for him (Quidditch gloves were an extremely awkward shape to wrap) and headed towards the empty Transfiguration classroom on the third floor.

She found Dillon already there, leaning casually against a desk at the back of the room. He stood when she entered and smiled at her in such an adorable way it melted her heart.

They had not revisited the broom cupboard after that night before the holidays, upon Kate's request. Dillon, being the gentleman that he was, obliged. It was not her feelings for him that she doubted - not at all - but it was the way in which one other boy in particular kept haunting her thoughts whenever she was with him that drove her mad. She had finally told Lily and Alice about it last night, taking the opportunity while Beatrice was away, and all the advice they could give her was to either break up with Dillon and try to get over Sirius herself, or stay with him and cut Sirius off completely. But Kate knew she was too selfish for that - and hated herself because of it - as she would never give up too-good-to-be-true Dillon Finch.

"Merry Christmas," he said. His sandy hair flopped into his eyes as he did so.

Kate pushed it back and kissed him. "Merry Christmas."

They both sat down in chairs across from each other and swapped presents.

"Wrapped with love, not care," Kate insisted as she saw him eyeing her shocking wrapping skills.

Dillon laughed. "Didn't say anything against it," he said, holding up a palm in peace.

Kate fingered the ribbon of the shoebox-sized gift he had given her. "You open yours first," she told him.

Dillon opened it, carefully, mocking her wrapping (she laughed and hit him half way through to make him hurry up), and his face lit up when it revealed a pair of dragon-hide Quidditch gloves.

"Wow, Kate... Thanks."

Kate was glad he liked them. She and Lily had gone shopping in Hogsmeade together, and after an hour of roaming aimlessly about the shops, they had found these in the Quidditch supplies store. Both had decided on getting their significant others the same thing in the hopes that the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would never associate with each other.

Kate now excitedly ripped through the paper and opened the box. She gasped as she delicately pulled out her present. It was a snow globe, about the size of her fist, resting on an ivory porcelain base. The fine snow particles within the dome swirled in intricate patterns, having been charmed to never settle. There was a miniature igloo at the bottom, around which a yellow-beaked penguin in a tuxedo was waddling.

"It was a Muggle one," he said. "I charmed it myself over the break. It took forever, I think it turned out alright?"

The penguin suddenly waddled up to the edge of the globe and tapped on the glass with its beak, cocking its head and gazing out with shiny black eyes, before waddling at a crazy pace around the igloo once more.

Kate loved it. Sirius - she hated herself for thinking about him on this day - had never gotten her any gifts in their times together. And if he had, it would never have been anything like this, anything he had put any personal effort into. Dillon was the most patient, sincere, adorable boy she had ever had a relationship with, and Kate knew at any second that could all go down the drain if she did not get her act together very soon. She hated herself, hated Sirius more, for what essentially was a disease she was carrying around with her day and night. A deeply-ingrained infatuation from childhood she could not shake, no matter how hard she tried.

Kate looked up at Dillon, who was gazing back at her with his warm brown eyes, waiting for her reaction. She was horrified when she felt a lump in her throat, which she tried to swallow down, before her eyes started stinging as they welled up with tears.

"Kate? Kate, what's wrong?" he said hurriedly, sitting up and caressing her arm. "I'm sorry, I would've gotten you something better if I knew you were going to spend this much money on me..."

Kate ducked her head and shook it, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. She felt hot tears splash onto her hands as she began to cry. He was so bloody _nice_.

"Then what is it? I - I know it's not the most sophisticated spellwork in the world, but I think I got the snow right. The penguin was harder - he turned out a little crazy - I just left it - thought you'd find it funny..."

These were tears of hate, of frustration; of Dillon Finch being so damn nice; of Kate King being a cold-hearted bitch who should have done the right thing a long time ago and cut him loose to find someone who could give her whole heart to him, like he deserved.

_Get a hold of yourself, woman._

Kate took a deep breath through her nose, and forced herself to look up. She wiped the tears, and lied in a thick voice, "I love it. I'm sorry, I just - I - no one's ever gotten me anything like that before. You know how my family is."

Dillon smiled at her sadly, understanding (she very nearly cried again at that) and pulled her closer. "Don't cry, you silly witch. Just say thank you next time. You scared me."

Kate sniffed and nodded, feeling like a right baby. She really was losing it. She had thought she was stronger than this - she had never cracked before.

_I hate you, Sirius Black. But I kind of love you._

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Lily was walking along the corridor of the seventh floor, having just come down from the Owlery after sending a letter thanking her parents for the present. She jumped as she passed a classroom with a lone student sitting slouched on top of a desk, gazing out the window. She frowned and peered closer, and recognised the masculine back profile of Sirius Black.

"Black?"

He glanced behind him. "Evans. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she said, approaching him. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go back with the Potters?"

"No, decided to give them a little breather from me. They need some family time."

Lily felt a pang of sadness for him. She knew - almost the whole school knew - about how Sirius had run away from his famously strictly pure-blood family and was now living with the Potters as their surrogate son. He must not have felt so sure of his place as their 'son', since he was here, alone in this empty classroom on Christmas Day.

Lily perched herself on the desk next to him, and followed his gaze out the window into the softly falling snow. "What are you doing now?" she asked. Lily could not help getting herself involved. Having never felt anything but contempt for Sirius Black and his arrogant, womanising ways, she had never thought she'd come upon a moment she actually felt _sorry _for him.

"Just reflecting on my brilliance," he sighed.

_They're all the same_, thought Lily wryly. James Potter and Sirius Black: both graduates of the school for sarcasm and pig-headed-ness.

"I suppose that won't be taking long, then?"

She was surprised when he chuckled. A rather lovely, deep chuckle, she thought, then mentally kicked herself for falling for the trap almost every other girl at Hogwarts had fallen for. She had underestimated his power of allure.

"Actually I've been here most of the day," he admitted. "Remus is still sleeping, and Peter is home for Christmas."

"Oh," she said. "Is it his time -"

"No, not that time of the month yet. He's just a lazy git."

"I see. Why are you all alone? One would think the infamous Sirius Black would have at least one lady from his harem to celebrate with."

Sirius grinned, baring his canines, and shook his head. "Why all the questions, Evans? Are you suddenly feeling sorry for old Black because you've seen him sitting all sensitive by himself on Christmas?"

She almost gasped at the accuracy of his guess, but bit it back just in time. "No. I just thought I'd do my duty as Head Girl to ensure the well-being of all Hogwarts students. And you are - much to everyones surprise, after everything you've done - still a Hogwarts student."

"Is that so?" he said, clearly amused at her flimsy excuse. "Ensuring my well-being, you say? Well in that case..." He leaned towards her, his grey eyes intensifying into a smoulder. Lily drew back slightly. "How about a pash?"

"Ugh. No."

Sirius gave a bark of laughter and leaned back away from her. "I'm joking. Pron- James would have my head on a stick in an instant."

Lily rolled her eyes. "And what if I had wanted to? Would he have done anything then? I hate how he thinks he has this _claim _over me." This all rolled off her tongue in one frustrated blurt, before she realised this was James' best friend she was talking to, and he would probably relate it all back to him later. _Who cares_, said another part of her. _Let him._

"But that shouldn't bother you now," said Sirius. "You've got that Wilkinson bloke, have you not?"

"Yes," Lily admitted. And she also silently admitted that she and James had been getting along surprisingly well over the past few days, not to mention he had saved her yesterday at the Christmas party. But one heroic gesture did not mean she had forgotten all those other tiffs with Potter. "But regardless. Potter's antics tend to scare away my boyfriends sooner or later."

"Do you like Wilkinson?"

_Ugh_. What was it with these two and asking about her feelings for Bryce?

"Yes, I like him. I'm going out with him."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"You don't understand what I'm saying," said Lily. "I said he scares _them_ away. Whether I like them or not."

"Are you sure that's it?"

"What?"

"Are you sure that's the reason it always ends? Are you sure it's not because you actually _like _James?"

Lily had already known what he was going to say half way through that sentence, and she had begun shaking her head even before he finished speaking. "No, no, no, I do _not _like Potter. I have never liked Potter; I never will like Potter."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, disregarding her words, (which was quite infuriating) and said, "Suit yourself, Evans. But if that's the way you truly feel, then just don't hurt James, alright?"

Lily frowned at him as Sirius searched her face intently, and she could not help but be touched at his obvious concern for his friend and his efforts to protect him.

"I would never hurt him," she said truthfully. "I don't think I can, to be honest, he's always so bloody blunt and happy about everything." Although, that was not totally true, she knew now.

"You'd be surprised. The little bugger can be quite sensitive. And to be honest, Evans," said Sirius, repeating her words, "You're about the only person who can really hurt him right now."

Lily did not know how to respond, so simply nodded. "I won't hurt him. I'm not changing anything, though - I'm not breaking up with Bryce, if that's what you're suggesting."

"No, you stupid witch," said Sirius, and Lily raised her eyebrows at his quip. "I'm not telling you to break up with your boyfriend. Just stop leading James on."

"When have I ever led him on!" exclaimed Lily.

"You do - you laugh and smile at his jokes, and then other times you're as cold as a frigid squid to him."

_Frigid squid._

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are. Admit it, Evans, you are pretty bloody inconsistent. James is my best friend, so I know he's not the type to take well to inconsistency - if he gets a good result from one tactic, he goes full throttle with it until he crashes."

Lily could only understand half of this terminology ("_good result"_? "_tactic"_?) but she had a general idea of what he was saying. "Alright, Black. I promise to be more consistent in my dealings with Potter. Happy? And you should stop leading Kate on, since we're on that topic."

Sirius frowned. "Kate doesn't fancy me now, anyway..."

_Whoops. She is going to kill me._

"I mean... You _used_ to lead her on big time. She was really upset, you know, whenever you had a new girl every week."

"But I always came back to her, didn't I?"

"Yes. And she always accepted you back. I'm just saying, stay away from her, Black. She's happy with Dillon now, he's good for her. You never were."

Lily thought perhaps those last words were too harsh, but realised this was _Sirius Black_ she was talking to. He was surrounded by plenty of other doting girls, and he could do with one less. Not that Kate had ever been doting - in fact she had been quite cavalier in her relationship with Black, and she supposed this was why Sirius had been so attracted to her himself. Lily would do her best to help her friend whose inner turmoil had seemed to be overwhelming her quite a bit, as she had told it last night.

Sirius nodded solemnly, and said, "All right."

Lily nodded too, and that was that. She stood up. "Well, see you around, Black."

"See you, Evans."

As she exited the door and turned towards Gryffindor Tower, she could not help but look back at the boy who was again gazing out the window, lost in his own thoughts, and think that perhaps she had been mistaken about him - perhaps there was more to Sirius Black than the shallow, woman-obsessed, arrogant prankster Lily had previously believed him to be.


End file.
